Re: TMNT Fast Forward
by ThatLong-HairedCreepyGuy
Summary: Alternate FF! TMNT/Shadowrun/Call Of Cthulhu! Rated T for L/V/SS. The Turtles fall through a window in time to the year 2105. Here, they are out in the open, but illegal citizens, and to survive, they must do the jobs nobody else wants: Nightrunners!
1. Episode 1  Future Tension

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Re: Fast Forward

Episode 1

Future Tension

by That Long-Haired Creepy Guy

_My name is Donatello, and in my years as a ninja, of the teenage mutant turtle variety, I've learned to expect the unexpected. Most people lead ordinary lives. They go to work, go to church, they have families they help take care of, and they sleep in a comfortable home that they slowly pay for over the course of their long lives._

_ I have a family too, of sorts. And we even do some of the things that ordinary families do, kind of. Most families have never engaged in a lethal battle with an alien brain while the spaceship built from parts said brain salvaged plummeted toward the Earth. Or got infected by a mutating strain of rogue DNA created by a mad scientist who works for a clandestine branch of the government. Or been whisked away on a boat to Japan to train with immortal ninjutsu masters._

_ No, I'd imagine these aren't the sort of things 'normal' families did._

_ But this is my family, and we stick together. However, sometimes, I find myself wondering if my family and I don't attract weirdness. Like what happened earlier today..._

{} {} {} {} {}

It was supposed to have been a simple, routine training run topside. Even Splinter had agreed that some fresh air would do them a world of good. Mind you, he'd only said this after Mikey and Raph got into a scuffle while he was trying to watch his soap operas.

Nevertheless, even Leo couldn't argue that they'd all be under a great deal of stress lately. Their battle with the Tengu Shredder had been the biggest fight of their lives. All of them were still a little shaken up after almost dying at that monster's hands, so the four of them had gone up to the surface to have a little fun, and leave their father alone to the dull drama of whether Stephanie would leave Jacques for Marcus a third time.

Then Casey had called, having heard rumors of a shipment of illegal arms coming through town on the docks. He had wanted to go himself, but was on a date with April. The guys understood, of course, and volunteered to check things out.

That was when they discovered the shipment was leftover Triceraton salvage that the Utrom Shredder had somehow missed. And that the deal was being fronted by the Purple Dragons.

From there, things got a little confusing.

Raph, naturally, wanted to go in and bust some heads. Leo, however, decided to get a closer look so Don could figure out just what they were dealing with. If the Purple Dragons had alien weaponry on their hands, he had pointed out, there was no way they'd just sell it to someone else. Even if the buyer was paying top dollar, the Purple Dragons wouldn't have let it pass out of their hands unless it was some sort of trap.

Leo just had to be right.

The crates were filled with Triceraton weaponry, but it was all explosives, and they'd been pre-armed to go off in a few minutes. The thug Hun was trying to pass the weapons off on to turned out to be Ruffington.

"We should just have Don set this stuff off and grease both slimeballs," Raph snarled, watching from the shadows.

"That's not how we do it," Leo contradicted. "Besides, this much heavy explosive would take out at least a city block, and this part of the dock is old. A fire is sure to break out. Half the city could get torched."

"More like most of Manhattan," Don whispered, punching a few buttons on his Turtle Vision goggles. "I don't know what Hun was thinking. These aren't toys he's using to take his competition out with. The Purple Dragons must not know what they're playing with."

"They can play with these, for all I care," hissed Raph, giving his trademark sais an expert twirl. "Enough of playing hide and seek, Leo. I'm ready to break a few spines."

Across the warehouse gap, Hun was standing next to a man Leo recognized as Ruffington. The look on Hun's face was priceless, like a cat who had just ate the cream.

"Okay," Leo relented. "On my ready."

Donnie drew out his bo, while Mikey gleefully spun his nunchaku.

"Go!"

They'd taken on the Purple Dragons so many times before, it was almost like playing connect the dots. Raph plowed through several armed with your basic chains and switchblades, using a couple of empty crates to cave their skulls in with. Leo sliced up two of his own, mindful to keep the wounds shallow, and prayed his hot-headed brother remembered that some of those crates contained heavy explosives.

Ruffington was already being escorted out by two of his bodyguards. Donnie saw this, and vaulted over the heads of the man's armed guards, landed on his feet in front of the mob boss.

"Sorry," he apologized cheekily, disarming both bodyguards with his bo. "Check-out time was at eleven this morning."

"Feel free to lodge a complaint with management at the front desk, though," Mikey chimed in, leaping down from the rafters to plant a solid kick with his feet to the heads of both men.

"And don't forget to turn in your room key," Donnie finished, tripping Ruffington up as he tried to make a break for it.

"We hope you've enjoyed your stay at the Purple Dragon Dilapidated Warehouse," Leo called out, getting in a few licks of his own as the last Purple Dragon goon collapsed with his pants down around his ankles.

"You meddlesome freaks!" Hun roared. "I should've finished you years ago."

"Wake up call, Hun," Raph jeered, commandeering a forklift, and steering it in the big man's direction. "You didn't finish us because you can't. Now how about letting the cleaning crew do it's job!"

"Sheesh, Raph," Donnie teased, leaping up the side of the forklift as it plowed past. "Couldn't you have come up with something better than that?"

"Yeah," Mikey added, latching on to the opposite side. "Maybe we should get you a subscription to Daily Purple Dragon Insults. I hear it's guaranteed to provide the average grouch with twenty percent more sarcasm in their quips."

"Stay focused, guys," Leo warned, leaping down on top of the machine . "We need to get these explosives out of here before we're all blown clear out of our shells."

"Leave it to me, bro," Raph declared.

Hun snarled as Raph steered the forklift toward the crates he'd been planning to pass off onto Ruffington. "Get away from there!" he cried out, breaking into a run. "You'll blast us to kingdom come!"

"What?" Ruffington shouted, looking around.

"Yeah, Ruffington," Mikey shouted, as the lift picked up the heavy load of crates. "Hun was planning on double-crossing you. Hey, Hun! Hope you're not too mad that we blew your dirty little secret."

Hun turned as he heard the click of a gun. Ruffington had pulled out his Browning from the holster he kept hidden in his suit, and was aiming for Hun's head.

"Oh, crud," Hun groaned.

Ruffington fired. Hun ducked, the bullet missing him by an inch or so, striking a gas line on the far wall instead.

"Oh crud!" Ruffington echoed.

Flames erupted out from the wall as the spark from the bullet ignited the gas, turning the warehouse into a raging inferno.

"So much for not starting a fire," Donnie noted, holding on for dear life as the forklift swerved sharply to avoid the rushing flames reaching for it.

"No kidding," Mikey added. "Can I please be moved to the non-smoking section of the warehouse?"

"Raph, keep her steady!" Leo ordered as the forklift swerved again.

"You try handling this thing," Raph bit back. "What are we supposed to do with this cargo now that the whole place is a smoke house, huh?"

"Aim it for the water front," Donnie suggested, coughing.

Raph turned in the direction that Donnie pointed, only to have Hun leap out of the flames a second later.

"You freaks!" he screamed, reaching through the broken window for Raph's throat. "Look what you've done. You're going to get us all killed!"

"Hey, we ain't the one who decided to pass off a bunch of live Triceraton bombs as guns to a crime boss," Raph said defensively.

"Raph!" Leo cried out.

Hun reared back, preparing to land a blow directly onto Raph's face. The forklift gave a very violent shudder, then, and was suddenly gone. Hun and all four brothers fell out of the air, like there hadn't been anything for them to ride on, and landed in a pile.

"Why is he always falling onto me?" Mikey groaned from somewhere underneath Hun's posterior.

"Mikey," Don called out, reaching for his brother's hand.

Mikey moaned as Don helped him out from under Hun's thick lump of a body. Around them, the fire raged out of control.

"What just happened?" Raph wondered, looking around.

"Look!" Leo shouted, pointing just up ahead of them.

The forklift had reappeared, manifesting like a glitch in a bad video file, and flickered for a moment before coming into solid view once more.

"Is that something we've seen before?" Mikey wondered. "Cuz we've seen a lot of weird stuff, and it's getting hard to keep track."

"True," Donnie admitted, not looking away as the forklift lumbered across the burning warehouse floor toward a wall.

"Don, what just happened?" Leo wondered.

"Not sure," the certified intellect of the group replied, waiting to see if the phenomenon would repeat itself. "It was as if there was some type of glitch."

"I hope this isn't more of that magic shit," Raph snarled. "Cuz I've had all I can stand of mystic hoo-ha messing stuff up."

"I don't know how you did that," Hun snarled, getting up. "And I don't care. It's time I put you four out of my misery for good."

The turtles prepared themselves, but in the blink of an eye, Hun had vanished.

"Now what happened?" Raph shouted, as the smoke thickened. "Where did Hun go?"

"Behind us," said Mikey, spotting Hun as he swung through the air at nothing.

"What?" Hun growled. "How did you get behind me?"

"How did you get behind us?" Leo wondered.

The moving forklift, meanwhile, reached the wall. Rather than crashing through it, however, it seemed to phase through it part of the way, before stalling.

"Guys, look!" Don insisted.

The forklift grew fainter and fainter, until it was gone. "How are you doing that?" Hun wondered. "What sort of trick is this?"

"If this is one of your tricks, Hun, it ain't funny," Raph warned, raising both sais.

"There must be some type of bizarre phenomenon going on inside the warehouse," Don warned them. "My Turtle Vision isn't registering anything, but it could be because the equipment doesn't know what to look for."

"Wonderful," said Raph, gripping his weapons in anger. "So now what?"

"Let's get out of here," Leo suggested. "Before something else goes wrong."

"You four aren't going anywhere!" Hun roared, charging toward them again. "Die!"

A light flared between them before Hun could reach the turtles. The flames nearest to it were blown out as a square grew from the inside of the blinding whiteness. Donnie, protected by his Turtle Vision, stared into the window as the effigy of a young boy materialized within the four corners.

"Oh, no!" the boy said, sounding frantic. "This is not good. Something must have gone wrong with the temporal electro-kinesis. I've got to realign the tachyon bridge flow before..."

A wind kicked through the warehouse, snuffing out the flames as the turtles felt themselves being hurled forward into the light. Leo gasped as he spotted a familiar figure whip past them.

"Master Splinter!" he screamed, as their rat sensei tried to reach for them. "Father!"

"Leonardo!" Splinter cried out, fighting to reach his son.

Their bodies were flung in a circle as the empty space they were in churned like the inside of a washing machine. More of the same windows popped open, each one depicting a different scene inside of it. Leo thought he saw the Shredder in one of them, but the image vanished before he could get another look. Michelangelo collided with him, sending both tumbling through the air. Leo reached for his brother, but Mikey vanished upon striking a new window that opened up directly in front of him.

"Mikey!" Leo shouted.

"Leo!" Raph called out, caught in the vortex's grip. "What the hell is going on?"

"Raph," Leo warned, fighting against the current to reach his brother. "Whatever you do, don't let the windows touch you!"

"Wh..."

Raph was cut off as the same window that had taken Mikey swept over him. Leo watched in horror as his brother vanished before his eyes. Looking around, he spotted Donatello farther below trying to reach Master Splinter. Their hands clasped together just as the window that took Raph and Mikey opened up.

"No!" Leo begged. "Not them, too!"

In a flash, they were gone, leaving Leonardo behind. Grief stabbed at his chest as he saw the window rushing toward him.

"If you want me," he snarled, feeling the bitterness at having failed his family swell. "You won't take me without a fight!"

Spinning through the air, Leo brought his blade down in a bisecting swing. The blade disappeared from his hands the moment it touched the square. A second later, he was gone from the vortex, taken by the same force that had stolen his family.

As darkness claimed him, he prayed to whatever gods that were feeling kind today to drop him in the same place as his loved ones.

That, or take him to them in the next life.

{} {} {} {} {}

Michelangelo felt his shell rattle as he came to a stop against something hard. "Ow!" he whined, before gravity took over, sending him tumbling shell over heels to the ground.

"Ouch!" he cried out. "Why is it I'm always the one who lands in garbage and on hard surfaces, huh?"

The stars in front of his eyes faded, clearing his head. "Wait, I remember now," he shouted, getting to his feet. "Leo!"

His brother, Leonardo, was nowhere to be found. None of his brothers were there with him, or Master Splinter. Mikey definitely remembered seeing his sensei in that weird, see-through whirlwind before.

"Wait, I know how this goes," said Mikey happily. "A tornado brought me here, so that must mean that I had to follow the yellow brick road to get to the bright, shiny city where..."

Something whizzed past above him, kicking up dirt in it's jet stream. "Hey!" he shouted, shaking his fist. "Sunday flier! Haven't you ever heard of...?"

Mikey's jaw dropped as he saw what had just buzzed him. A strange kind of vehicle was flying off into the distance amid hundreds more just like it. Seconds later, another vehicle, this one black with a hauntingly-familiar symbol stuck to the back, flew overhead a little higher up in it's pursuit of the earlier one.

"Nah," Mikey insisted to himself, as a bad feeling in his stomach gripped him. "Couldn't have been, could it?"

It was then that Mikey began to notice his surroundings. He was standing on some kind of narrow platform high in the air. Glowing escalators carrying patrons of all shapes, sizes, and even colors were just to the right of him. A moving circular sidewalk was stretched around an oval-shaped building to his left. There were buildings all around him, enormous skyscrapers connected by inter-linking passages.

It was then that Mikey realized he was high up in the air. It was also at that point that it occurred to him that he was standing out in public where a whole bunch of people could see him.

In broad daylight, no less.

"Yipe!" he cried, shriveling up as a young girl cocked a curious eyebrow his way, but otherwise paid him little mind. "I think I'm not in Kansas anymore."

Mikey's anxiety didn't last long, as it soon became clear that no one was bothered by his appearance. Now that he thought about it, a couple of the people in the crowd didn't look quite human, either. Most of the pedestrians were wearing some strange type of head gear, like something out of a futuristic science fiction movie. Furthermore, their clothes didn't look normal.

"Did I get zapped into a Space Trek convention or something?" he wondered.

A lady inside the oval building, which, it turned out, was a restaurant, smiled at him and gave a friendly wave.

"Um, hello?" he tried.

The woman just nodded back to him and resumed eating. "Weird," he concluded, putting his hands on his shell. "Where's Donnie when I could use him?"

{} {} {} {} {}

"Sorry, Master Splinter," Donatello said sheepishly, getting to his feet.

The two of them had exited the vortex in a tumble, rolling over on top of each other before coming to a stop with Don resting heavily above his father.

"It is quite alright," Splinter assured him kindly, accepting his son's hand up. "Are you injured, Donatello?"

"I don't think so," Don said. "What the shell happened to us? We were fighting Hun inside that warehouse, but how did you get here?"

"I do not know," Splinter admitted, glancing around quickly. "But we cannot afford to be seen here. Whatever has happened, we have been transported out into the open. Someone will surely notice us if we do not move."

"Right," Don agreed, backing away.

The two moved as one into the shadows of some nearby bushes, taking notice of their surroundings as they backed out of sight.

"Master Splinter," Don said softly. "Do you see what I see?"

They had somehow been taken to a park. The time appeared to be dusk, but there were still a few stragglers loitering around. Overall, the crowd didn't look particularly friendly, but for the moment, it was who the crowd consisted of that concerned Don the most.

"Is that a Triceraton?" he asked, pointing to a cluster of trees where the triple-horned hulking alien lurked. "And that one over there almost looks like one of the creatures we saw on D'Hoonnib."

The park itself had a distinct Japanese feel to it. A glowing hologram hanging in mid-air near some kind of street lamp Don had never seen before marked the area. It was written in kanji, with the words spelled out both in hiragana and English below.

"Oroku Park?" Donnie read aloud. "Surely not?"

The park's shady characters were starting to move about more freely as the sun disappeared. "Have we been taken to Japan somehow, sensei?"

"I do not believe so," Splinter said gravely, pointing. "Look."

Don followed the direction of Splinter's pointing finger, and saw immediately what he meant. Off in the distance, looming over the park like some bad omen, was a skyscraper. Something about it looked distinctly familiar, but even if that hadn't been the case, there was no mistaking the three-pronged emblem displayed boldly on the front for the whole world to see.

"The Foot?" Don staggered backwards. "What does it mean?"

"That we are in a great deal of danger," Splinter replied. "I do not know where fate has taken us, but we must leave this place, Donatello, and find your brothers. They will be in great danger, if this is any indication."

Together, the two worked their way silently through the shadows, careful to remain out of sight. The park's visitors had no such qualms, openly speaking to one another now under the cover of dark. From the looks of things, some type of transaction was going on between the aliens. And for the most part, it was aliens who inhabited the place. Don saw one or two humans standing around, some speaking with one another, while others stood out in the open conversing with empty air. Everyone was wearing the same basic head set, modified to suit their physiology. It felt surreal to see so many different species interacting with one another, even after everything he'd witnessed.

"You, there! In the bushes!"

The sound started Don, and he realized too late that he'd let his curiosity get the better of him. In his haste, he'd raised up a little too fast, and let himself get spotted by an angry-looking Triceraton that was currently stomping toward them.

"Make haste," Splinter said, already moving.

Don was fast on his sensei's heels. "No kidding," he gasped, as the Triceraton began catching up. "I wonder what's gotten him all riled up?"

"I do not believe that now is an appropriate time to stop and ask," Splinter replied, taking to the air over several benches.

Don followed his master's lead, leaping over bushes, and through a picnic area that had been set up underneath a pagoda. The Triceraton behind them continued to pursue, stomping over and around every obstacle they attempted to slow him with.

"At least he's being considerate," Donnie mused, as they came up near an open area. "Any other Triceratons we've met would've plowed through this place like a bulldozer."

"My son!" Splinter stopped short as they came up on a clearing. "Look!"

Donatello skid to a stop beside the rat, and looked up in shock at what his sensei was indicating. A statue had been set along a path, bisecting it into a crossroads. The image of a woman standing with her hands clasped together, and bent forward in a respectful bow, gazed down at them.

"Karai?" Donnie couldn't believe it. "That's a statue of Karai!"

"I do not believe it," Splinter gasped. "What is this place?"

"No," Don insisted, shaking his head in denial. "This is just like that future that I was sent to. We failed everyone, Master Splinter. April, Casey... everyone is dead. The Shredder came back and took everything away."

"My son..." Splinter began, hoping to reassure the frantic turtle, but found himself interrupted as the rampaging Triceraton caught up to them.

"There you are," he growled, taking a deep breath through the re-breather patch attached to his throat. "You know, for splicers, you two have a weird way of conducting business. The Johnson told me you might come across as a little eccentric, but this was taking things too far."

"Still," the alien dinosaur mused. "I guess a little jog at night never hurt anyone. So, anyway, what can I get for you?"

Donnie and Splinter glanced at one another. Boldly, the rat stepped forward. "I'm afraid there has been some sort of confusion," Splinter explained. "We are not who you were expecting. We simply arrived here by mistake..."

"Call me Trekkas," the Triceraton said, giving them a finger symbol Donnie assumed was meant to be taken as friendly. "Sorry about the mix-up."

"It is no trouble," Splinter assured him, backing away slightly now. "Forgive us for taking you away from your appointment."

"Yeah, I should probably get back," Trekkas said sheepishly. "Before I go, though, is there anything you guys need? It looks like you haven't touched terra for very long. Neo-Manhattan can be rough for newcomers, especially if you don't know the cyberlines yet."

"Actually," Don began, a little more enthusiastic now. "Would you mind telling us where we are? We seem to have gotten turned around."

"Oh, sure," Trekkas said, pointing a massive finger to a spot behind them. "See that shrine over there? That's a data panel. It can tell you exactly where you need to go. All the panels in Oroku Park are hooked up to the Wired, so any information you want can be accessed from there."

"Awesome," Don gushed. "Thanks!"

The two waited until Trekkas had turned away before heading for the panel, just to be on the safe side.

"This is all very strange," Splinter said, his eyes continuously darting toward the Karai statue not far away.

"No kidding, master," Don said, as a holo-panel appeared in front of the shrine. "That Triceraton wasn't lying, though. This is some kind of remote-access data computer."

"Can it tell us where we are?"

"I think so," Don said, reaching for the tools he kept on his belt. "It seems to be asking for some sort of identification, though. I can probably hack into with a little bit of luck, though."

"Please, hurry," Splinter said, covering Donatello as he worked. "I do not like this place, and we are far too exposed here."

"Yeah," Donatello said, as he began fiddling with the hatch. "But don't you find it strange that there was a Triceraton out in the open? What are aliens doing here? And was it just my imagination, or did that Trekkas guy say something about a 'Neo-Manhattan' before he walked off?"

"All good questions," Splinter agreed. "And hopefully one we will find answers to. I only hope that whatever power brought us here did not send your brothers too far from us. I fear they may be in great danger."

"If Leo made it here," Don assured him, looking over his shoulder. "They'll be fine. He wouldn't let anything happen to them."

{} {} {} {} {}

"I can't believe this!" Raph shouted, punching his fist into the wall.

"Keep it down over there," a digitized voice barked back.

Raphael turned, his teeth grinding together, with his bleeding fist raised. "Shut yer yap, pussball, or I'll come over there and carve one out of your greasy body so I can shut it for ya!"

The ball of sludge made a flatulent sound that the hot-headed turtle assumed was supposed to be insulting.

"I can't believe they threw me in this joint," he grumbled, pacing back and forth in the limited space that his prison cell provided. "And what's all this noise about PID codes?"

"You were caught wandering the street without PID codes?" a female catwoman asked from a couple of cells up on the opposite side. "What a skid!"

"Yeah?" Raph challenged, giving her a sharp glare. "Well, I'm not stuck in this crackhouse because I wanted to come here, lady, so why don't you just keep it to yourself."

"Nitro-head," she jabbed back. "No one would be dumb enough to let themselves get arrested if they hadn't gotten PID codes yet."

"And what are PID codes?" Raph was getting sick of hearing about them. "All I tried to do was buy a drink and get some info about where I was. Then the bartender claims I'm running some sort of scam, and tries to toss me out of his joint. Suddenly, these weirdos in robes show up, and start throwing lightning around."

The catwoman made a disapproving purr sound. "You got busted by the LoneStar Mages," she explained, speaking as though he were a child. "Nasty bunch of cops, they are. The bartender must be a contact for somebody, or else they wouldn't have responded so quickly."

"Whatever!" Raphael stomped back to his bunk and sprawled out on it. "And I thought I was confused when I didn't know what was going on."

Just as he was starting to get comfortable, Raph heard a familiar voice echo down the corridor. "It can't be," he muttered, raising up.

"Listen to me." Leonardo's insistent voice fell on deaf ears as he was shoved past Raph's cell into the one next door. "I'm just trying to find my family!"

"Tell it to the judge," the security droid replied calmly, before switching the laser bars on.

"Well, I'll be," Raph said, laughing as he got up. "This has to be the last place I'd ever expect to see you in, Fearless Leader."

"Raph?" Leo looked started. "What are you doing in here?"

"Bein' a bad egg, just like you are, apparently," Raph replied, enjoying himself. "After that window dropped me in this psycho city, I went to a bar to try and figure out what happened. Some magic-wielding cops showed up, and threw me in this joint."

Leo said nothing. "So what's your story?" Raph demanded. "Did you get busted for jaywalking, or something?"

"No," Leo said gravely. "Attempted murder."

Raphael blanched. "You know," he began, waiting for Leo to tell him he was joking. "It's good to see you taking a walk on the wild side and all, but maybe you should start off slow."

"This isn't a joke, Raph," Leo insisted, watching his brother from across the gap separating their cells. "That portal dropped me into the middle of a war zone. Apparently, there was some sort of gang fight going on. They were using weapons like nothing we'd ever encountered before. These police officers dressed up like the Foot showed up to break the fight up."

Leo paused. "It was worse than anything the Purple Dragons had ever done," he said grimly. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I wasn't thinking at that point. It just seemed seemed so unreal."

"Wait just a second," Raph cut in. "Back up. The Foot were the good guys?"

"I know," Leo replied. "Believe me, I'm still not sure how it happened, but one of the gang members dropped his weapon and ran. I picked it up, and just started firing. They were all shooting with laser blasters. One of the Foot cops got in my way, and I just... reacted."

"Shit."

"I know," said Leo, hanging his head. "I overheard them say that the officer would make it, but they're still charging me. I just can't believe the Foot are the law enforcement in this place."

"Wherever this place is," Raph grumbled.

Leo raised up at that. "We're in the future, Raph."

"Say what?"

Leo nodded. "I didn't believe it at first, either. Apparently, this is Neo-Manhattan, a privately-run city-state in the year 2105."

Raph waited. "We're in the future?"

"Hamato Leonardo!" Leo moved back slightly as a holo-screen appeared behind the bars in front of him.

"Hamato Raphael!" said the same person on a screen that materialized before Raph. "The charges brought against you have been dropped, and you are being released into the custody of the sentient care-droid, Serling. Please gather your personal effects and prepare for release-protocol processing."

"Come again?" Raph demanded as both screens vanished. "How the hell does attempted murder get dropped so fast?"

"We'll figure that out later," Leonardo said, looking relieved. "For right now, let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. Whoever just helped us, we at least owe our thanks."

"If you say so," Raph replied happily, stepping out as the bars dissipated. "I won't be sorry to leave this place behind."

Raph looked over his shoulder at the catwoman as he and Leonardo walked toward the door at each other's sides. "Catch ya later, cat lady."

"I'm sure we'll meet again," the woman purred, watching Raphael like he were a plump mouse.

The two brothers were escorted out of the containment area by two new androids, neither of which spoke a word as they led Raph and Leo to the front of the station, where their benefactor named Serling was apparently waiting for them.

"This is taking forever," Raph grumbled as he and Leo were put through a set of scanners.

"Bio-levels unknown," the machine beeped warningly. "Genetic cross-referencing unavailable. Species undetermined."

"That would be my fault," a new robot said hurriedly, approaching where the turtles were as several armed droids leveled laser blasters at them. "These two hail from the far-off planet of Shell-Ri La, a small water-based orbital satellite in the Dagoba system. I have instructions to take them to the Offworld Embassy just as soon as we're done here."

One of the droids considered the hulking, silver machine for a moment. "Uncategorized species are not permitted in Neo-Manhattan borders," it reminded. "We are not authorized to release them into your custody unless they pass the genetic scanner."

"Em, perhaps if I spoke with your supervisors, then?" the silver robot offered. "I'm sure he can be persuaded to make another exception on their parts."

"Exception?" Raph turned his head. "You mean to tell me we both got released because somebody bribed these guys?"

"Not now, Raph," Leo warned, holding him back. "At least we're getting out of here."

"This stinks, Leo," Raph insisted, swatting his brother's hands away. "Nobody would go to this much trouble for us unless they wanted something."

"I know," Leo replied insistently. The droids surrounding them kept their weapons armed and at the ready the whole time. "I'm worried too, but Master Splinter and the others are still out there somewhere. We have to find them, and if doing a favor for somebody brings us one step closer, I'm willing to risk it."

Raph scowled, but didn't protest. "Right," he replied unhappily. "But I don't have to like it."

"Neither do I," Leo said.

A moment later, the robots returned. "This is such a relief," the silver one said. "My master will be so grateful for your assistance."

"Just get them out of here before I lose my authority protocol codes," a gruff-looking man barked back.

"At once," replied the silver droid. "Come along, you two. We've not a moment to spare, and there's still work to be done."

Raph held his tongue until they passed through the doors to the outside. "Okay, Buckethead," he growled. "Tell us who you are and how we got here."

"My, you are the impetuous one after all, aren't you?" the robot jeered. "My name is Serling, and this is the year 2105. You were accidentally transported to the city-state of Neo-Manhattan by a temporal anomaly that my master has been attempting to correct. In the meantime, he sent me out to fetch the four of you along with your master, the mutated rat you call Splinter."

"Your master?" Leo asked, while Raph continued to snarl.

"I serve the one and only heir to the vast O'Neil-Jones fortune," Serling said reverently. "The President and CEO of O'Neil Shelltech, Cody O'Neil-Jones."

Leo's jaw dropped. "Cody O'Neil-Jones?"

"You gotta be kidding me," Raph said, pointing a finger at the robot's tin-plated chest. "You mean to tell me that we really are in the future, and April and Casey's kid owns a company?"

"Great-grandson," Serling corrected. "And yes, Master Cody is the direct descendent of the late April O'Neil and Casey Jones, who were your comrades, I believe."

Raph and Leo looked at one another. "Neo-Manhattan became a city-state unto itself some time ago," Serling explained. "Back when there was still a United States of America. Three major corporations fund the city's power, water, maintenance, civil service, and entertainment, one of which is O'Neil Shelltech."

"Thanks for the history lesson," Raph bit back. "But do yourself a favor, and tell us how we got here!"

"My master can explain it better," Serling replied evasively. "Right now, we must hurry if we want to track down the rest of your little group of DNA deviants. As you may have noticed, running around Neo-Manhattan without PID codes is a hazardous and foolhardy thing to do. Getting the two of you out of jail nearly bankrupted one of Master Cody's trust fund accounts. My internal systems shudder to think what it would cost should the rest of you wind up in a similar predicament."

Raph stayed put as Serling began walking along. "Come along, now," he insisted.

"Whatda you think, Leo?" Raph asked.

Leo shrugged. "What choice do we have? It's transportation, and a means of finding the others. Right now, I just want to find Master Splinter and make sure he's alright."

"Same here," Raph agreed, moving now. "But I still think this stinks."

"I assure you," Serling quipped while leading them down a glowing escalator to the lower street level. "The situation is no more foul that you are, not that such a turn of phrase could be considered a compliment."

"How are we going to find the others?" Leo asked, hoping to break up a fight before it started.

"With this," Serling answered, as a flap popped open on his arm. Pressing a button, the robot turned toward the upper end of the street, where something approached.

"My master commissioned it to be built some time ago," the robot explained as the hovering green vehicle slowed to a stop on the curb in front of them. "He calls it the Hovershell."

Even Raph was aghast. "Get in," Serling ordered, opening the passenger hatch. "We really should depart from this place. For whatever the reason, the city chose to locate it's prison in a rather unsavory section of the city. I really don't care to be here longer than necessary."

"Donnie would love this thing," Raph said, giving the Hovershell a once-over before climbing in with his brother. "A giant flying turtle shell is right up his alley."

"Yes," Serling muttered, taking the controls. "I'm afraid Master Cody might have inherited a few of the family's more notorious quirks."

The hatch slammed shut with the push of a button, and Serling quickly seized the controls to activate the hovercraft.

"So," Leo asked, falling back into a seat next to Raph, who suffered the same fate, as Serling rocketed the Hovershell into the air. "Where will we find Master Splinter, Donatello, and Mikey?"

"Yeah," Raph added. "I've been thinkin' about that. If we were all zapped into the future, how come we didn't end up in the same place together?"

"You were never supposed to come here," Serling told them, glancing back. "Time travel research was expressly forbidden by the O'Neil-Oroku charter decades ago. Master Cody never intended to violate his company's own policies. The Time Window was invented merely to observe the past, not bring things from it to this time."

"So, our coming here was an accident?" Leo asked, as the Hovershell swerved hard again.

"Terrific," Raph grumbled.

"I assure you, sending you home has become the Master's top priority," Serling told them, racing under what looked like a traffic light. "Must these ignorant masses constant clog up the express alley?"

"Where is he takin' us?" Raph wondered. "And how are we supposed to get there in one piece?"

"Your comrades fell into what my master calls a tempus fluctuation," Serling explained as the Hovershell leveled out. "Apparently, when you all came through the Time Window, you each arrived at different time points."

"You mean," Leonardo asked worriedly. "They could have been here for months?"

"Or even years," Raph pointed out in a grim tone.

"More like hours," Serling corrected. "According to Master Cody's calculations, the rat and your brother landed together in Oroku Park. We should get there just as they arrive, traffic permitting, of course. As for the other one you call Mikey, he already landed in Uppertown Plaza. Unfortunately, when I arrived at the coordinates, he'd already left the vicinity."

"Great," Raph sneered, as the Hovershell dipped hard downward. "Mikey won't find any trouble while we're out looking for him. No siree!"

{} {} {} {} {}

An alarm from the shrine sounded. Donatello looked up sheepishly at it, before turning to his sensei. "Sorry about that," he said, before connecting two wires together. "This thing has some kind of security system attached to it, but I think I've worked out how it functions."

Sparks flew, and the noise immediately stopped. "This technology is amazing," Don gushed, going back to work. "I've see schematics for things like this, but it has to be at least fifty, or maybe even a hundred years ahead of anything we have."

"Hurry, my son," Splinter said, sniffing the air. "I sense we are not alone here."

"Just a few more wires," Don promised, fiddling with the internal workings again. "And I should have it."

Something clattered along the ground. Don and Splinter looked at the exact same time to find a small flashing sphere skipping along the path toward them. Donnie opened his mouth to call out for his sensei to duck, but found himself cut off as the sphere let out a dazzling flash of white light. Something landed over his shoulders, knocking him to the ground.

When the light dissipated, and Don could see again, he was looking out through the holes of a glowing florescent blue net at several cloaked figures.

"Looks like we got ourselves a couple of baggies tryin' a illegal hack on our turf," one sneered, his voice sounding vaguely metallic.

"Poor choice," a woman said, tsking. "Nobody takes an info dump on the Street Phantom's turf unless we give the thumbs up."

"Let's waste 'em!" the shortest one in the group said eagerly, clenching his hands. "Let's slice, dice, thrash, trash, scrub, delete, and synthesize 'em!"

"Easy, Bitmap," one warned as a tall, eerily thin man with enormous teeth approached the scene with a confident swagger. "It's Jammerhead's call, remember?"

Donatello tried to lift the net off him, but his muscles didn't want to cooperate. "Forget it," the woman told him, giving his shell a kick. "Neuro-synaptic paralyzing nets. Shuts down all all voluntary reflexes. You two baggies aren't going anywhere."

"'Cept maybe to the recycler!" the one called Bitmap added, before breaking down into a cackling fit.

The leader, Jammerhead, swung his fist out and backhanded Bitmap across the face, silencing him. "Warned ya," the male from before said, snorting.

"Sorry, boss!" Bitmap apologized, lowering his head in submission. "Real sorry. Didn't mean no disrespect or nuthin'. Real sorry."

About two seconds passed. "Can we dissect 'em now?" he asked frantically.

"You'll have to forgive Bitmap," Jammerhead said, shaking his head. "He ran afoul of some bad bootlegged Lifestyle software a while back."

"Best thing ever!" Bitmap screamed.

"I'm sorry," Don said, as Splinter tried his best to move the net. "I think there's been some kind of misunderstanding."

"Oh, I'd say there has," Jammerhead replied, leering at them.

A frown crossed his face suddenly, and he leaned forward to get a better look. "No head jacks," he noted, looking Don and Splinter over. "No Wired link-ups or Enviro-Packs, gravity regulators, and translator wrist-comps?"

"They don't even have PID code badges," the woman said.

Jammerhead raised back up sharply, looking alarmed. "They're Nightrunners," he declared. "That's what this is. No off-worlder comes to Neo-Manhattan this unprepared. This must be some kind of sting operation."

"We're being set up!" Bitmap howled.

"Defrag me running," the woman snarled, whipping a strange-looking blaster out from under her cloak. "Where do you think they're coming from?"

"Nothing," the unnamed man said, pressing a finger to his temple. "There's nothing on the security readouts. These two are alone."

"Good." Jammerhead pulled out a glowing katana from a sheath hidden by his cloak. "Then let's take care of these two and get our algorithms filed and cataloged."

"Do it, boss!" Bitmap cheered, jumping up and down gleefully. "Do both of 'em!"

"Donatello," Splinter called out as Jammerhead advanced on them. "Can you move at all?"

"Sorry, sensei," the turtle replied. "Whatever this net is made of, I can't pull it off me."

"Say ya prayers," Jammerhead snarled, raising the blade over his head. "Reptile!"

"Jammerhead, wait!" the man called out, holding a hand up. "I've got something. There's a vehicle registered to O'Neil Shelltech headed this way."

"Shelltech?" Jammerhead lowered the sword and looked around. "What would someone from O'Neil Shelltech be doing in Oroku Park?"

"O'Neil?" Don wondered.

"It seems that this place is full of surprises," Splinter whispered to him. "But for now, we must focus our minds, and get out of here."

"Right."

Donatello closed his eyes, and gathered together his chi. He, like his brothers, had trained for years under Splinter in the art of ninjutsu. When the mind, body, and soul worked in conjunction with one another, the impossible became real. It was just a matter of mind over technology.

Splinter let out an unnatural growl as he began raising up off the ground, the net still hanging over him.

"Stay down," the woman shrieked, kicking the rat in the back.

"Master Splinter," Don shouted, raising up. "Stay away from him!"

Now that his arms were up, he could reach his bo. It even hurt his shell to move, but Don would rather have been impaled than watch Splinter go down in his place. Gritting his teeth, he yanked his bo free, and tossed the net through the air at Jammerhead.

"Frag!" Jammerhead hollered as the net landed over him.

"Jammerhead," the woman called out.

Donatello went for the biggest one near Splinter while, behind him, Jammerhead pressed a button on his wrist comm. Immediately, the cloak he wore glowed, and the Street Phantom's body went blurred like bad video footage. At once, the punk sank into the ground, leaving the net on the ground where he'd been only seconds ago.

"How did he do that?" Donatello wondered, before kicking the Street Phantom away from his father.

"Like this," the woman replied. "Ghost mode, boys."

"Ghost mode! Ghost mode!" Bitmap cried out joyously, depressing the same button on his wrist multiple times. "Ghost mode! I love Ghost mode! Mmmmm, that tickles!"

Donatello took point as the now-intangible Street Phantoms closed in on them. Some leveled blasters at his shell, while others summoned laser rifles out of their cybernetic arms. Donatello spun his staff in a circle as they fired, but the blasts shattered it to pieces.

"Hey!" he cried out angrily. "That was my favorite bo."

"I hope you didn't wake up with your favorite head," the lady said, taking aim. "Because that's getting blown up next."

Splinter tried to help, getting in several excellent kicks, but all they did was pass through the Phantoms' bodies like they were made out of air.

"It's like trying to attack smoke," Don said wearily, his punches having no effect either. "How do we fight something that we can't touch?"

Splinter turned to him, smiling. "By becoming intangible ourselves," he answered. "Follow my lead, Donatello, and be careful."

Splinter ducked and weaved as the nearest Phantom opened fire on him. The rat moved through the air with the skill and ease of an acrobat, each blast coming close, but never quite touching him. Jammerhead rose up out of the ground directly in front of him just as another shot missed, grinning broadly.

"Ya know what?" he growled, as his body became tangible again. "I really never liked rats."

Splinter whipped his tail around in response. "And I," he challenged, as the tip snatched the wrist comm off the man's forearm. "Have never been afraid of ghosts."

With a second flick, Splinter sent the wrist comm through the air toward his son, who was doing an excellent job of avoiding getting hit. The comm smacked Donnie upside the head, getting his attention.

"I get it," Donnie said, scooping the wrist comm up as he back-flipped out of the way of another shot.

Quickly, Don placed the wrist comm on his arm and depressed the same button he'd seen the other Street Phantoms use.

"Stupid reptile," Jammerhead mocked. "That won't work by itself. You've gotta have a phaser cloak on first."

Splinter struck the man straight between the eyes with his walking stick. "Thank you," he said cockily, before snatching Jammerhead's cloak off him. "We might not have worked that out otherwise."

The rest of the Street Phantoms hesitated for a moment before resuming fire. "Don't, you stupid frag-heads," Jammerhead screamed. "You might hit me!"

"I think I've worked it out, master," Don informed, as Splinter worked his way through the blaster fire over to his son.

"Good," Splinter said. "Here, put this on."

The moment the cloak touched Donatello, his body flickered the same way the Phantoms had. "Amazing," he said, overjoyed at such advanced technology. "I'm the first ever Turtle Phantom."

Donatello rushed forward, the blaster fire phasing right through him now. Splinter stayed out of the way as Don punched and kicked his way through the Phantoms, who suddenly found themselves at the mercy of his fists.

"That was for my bo," he declared, sucker punching one in the jaw.

A alarm in the wrist comm went on. Don looked down at it just as the Ghost mode shut itself off. Looking up, he saw Jammerhead standing with a few of his cronies, who had surrounded Master Splinter. All of them were ready to open fire.

"Frag-head," Jammerhead called out. "Any Street Phantom cloak can be turned off by me. Now, don't move a muscle, or your little pet rat will be filled with more holes than virtual swiss cheese."

"Yo, big mouth!"

Everyone looked up as Raphael came flying down through the air at Jammerhead. "Thanks for the tip."

Raph's foot connected with Jammerhead's forehead, knocking him back. Before he could get very far, a quick swipe with his sai cut the main computer on Jammerhead's belt in half. All around them, the Street Phantoms were suddenly tangible again.

"Nice one, Raph," Leonardo praised, landing beside Splinter.

"Guys!" Donnie cried out.

"My sons," Splinter said in relief, as Leo went to town on the Phantoms, kicking each one of them back away from his sensei.

"Let's take care of these clowns so we can get out of here," Raph called out, moving on to help his brother out. "This place gives me the creeps."

"It's called Oroku Park," Don explained, joining in on the fray. "If you can believe that, and has something to do with Karai and the Foot."

"We know," Leo replied casually, slicing away one of the Street Phantom member's arm rifle with his ninjaken. "This park is supposedly under the jurisdiction of the Foot Police."

With a flying kick, Leonardo finished off the last Street Phantom. "I know this is going to sound strange," he said, looking between his master and Donatello. "But this is the year 2105. We were brought here by some kind of accident involving a Time Window. Apparently, April and Casey have a great-grandson who owns a mega-corporation called O'Neil Shelltech that owns part of this city."

"Yeah," Raph chimed in. "The Foot also own a huge chunk of this place, and actually work on the side of the law."

Don's eyes went wide. "That's a lot to take in," he said, before looking to his sensei. "And I'm usually the one who figures this stuff out."

"Ah, you two just got here," Raph replied dismissively. "We've been stuck in this place for hours. The tin can flying that hovercraft said something about us coming here at different points, or something."

Splinter's eyes drifted upward as the Hovershell descended to rest about fifteen feet or so over their heads.

"We still have to locate Mikey," Leo said, putting his swords away.

"Then let us go," Splinter said, as the Hovershell landed. "We can learn more about this place later, as well as thank our mysterious new benefactor."

"Good news," Serling said, as they boarded. "A message came in from Master Cody over the Wired. Apparently, someone posted a holo-vid file of someone in a Retroville arcade. He believes it may be your missing brother."

"Then it's time to kick some shell," Raph said eagerly. "If this is how the future's treatin' us so far, Mikey's gonna need all the help he can get."

{} {} {} {} {}

Retroville was located in the lower part of Uppertown Plaza, meaning Michelangelo hadn't gone far from the coordinates that pinpointed his landing in 2105. Serling parked the Hovershell in a spot near the arcade.

"And do hurry," he instructed. "This hover zone charges by the minute."

"Yeah, whatever," Raph griped, leaping out through the hatch. "Keep your tin-plated pants on, Buckethead. This won't take long."

"Spread out and search the area," Leo instructed once they were all together. "Michelangelo couldn't have gotten far."

"Be ever alert of danger," Splinter warned. "There is no telling what he may have encountered on his own in this place."

Leo decided to check the arcade first. It was the last place Mikey had been spotted, so there were probably clues there to point him in the right direction. Given how many aliens appeared to be inhabiting this city, and the fact that they didn't stand out the same way as they had in their own time, it would probably be better to go in as though he were a vacationing tourist.

Even if the name Shell-Ri La sounded silly to him.

The inside of the arcade was noisy. There were all sorts of machines, emitting lights and noises that actually made Leo hesitate for a moment. Nothing in here looked familiar, but then Leo had to remember that he was a century away from his own time. 'Retro' for this place probably referred to somewhere between twenty and thirty years.

"Excuse me," Leo asked, walking straight up to the human woman behind the counter. "I was wondering if you'd seen my brother. He looks... a lot like me, actually."

Without flinching, the woman pointed toward an area in the far back, where a crowd had gathered en mass. "He's been here for hours," she said. "Highest score on the machine yet."

"What?"

Leo followed the direction she was pointing toward, and slowly nudged his way through the cheering crowd.

"Tripped!" someone called out.

"Breakstylin'," another agreed.

Michelangelo was standing on top of a raised platform. Holographic cubes with symbols encased in them rose up all around him in time to the beats of a song coming from the game machine in front of him. Mikey was flipping, twisting, and turning all over the place, striking each cube as it rose higher up, causing them to disappear. A voice from the machine cheered him on in time with the rest of the crowd. As Mikey finished with a one-handed flip, a hologram projection of a gorgeous human female appeared next to him.

"That was amazing," she gushed. "You're a real professional dancer now."

The crowd seemed to agree. "Thank you! Thank you!" Mikey called out, blowing them kisses. "I'll be here all weekend, or at least until I can find my bros. Now, who wants to see me do another one?"

The crowd went ballistic. "Mikey!" Leo called out above the din. "Mikey!"

"Leo!" Mikey shouted back, overjoyed. "Hey, everyone! Look down there. It's my bro, Leonardo. How about giving him a big hand?"

Everyone applauded, and began chanting Leo's name. "Leo, this place is incredible," Mikey said, jumping down next to his brother once the crowd cleared away enough space for them. "Nobody is the least bit surprised that we're turtles. I actually got to eat in a real restaurant, and didn't even have on a trench coat. The folks here are really friendly. Can we please stay for just a little while longer? Please, pretty please?"

"Mikey," Leo said impatiently, cutting him off. "We have to regroup with the others. Everyone assumed something horrible had happened to you."

"Horrible?" Mikey couldn't have looked more shocked. "I've been having the time of my life. Everything is great here. I never want to leave!"

"Come on," said Leo wearily, grabbing Mikey by the back of his shell. "Let's find the others."

"Goodbye, everyone!" Mikey called out as his fans gave him a final round of applause. "I hope to see you all again soon."

{} {} {} {} {}

"He was doing what?" Raph snarled, reaching out to choke Mikey with his bare hands.

"Easy, bro. I was just having a little fun." Mikey dodged out of the way as the others helped to restrain Raphael. "It's not my fault you couldn't play nice with the locals."

"We've been fighting our shells off since we got here, and all you were doing was jumping around on a stage in front of a cheering audience?"

Splinter smacked Raph lightly with his walking stick. "Enough," he warned, as Raph was forced back into his seat by Serling's driving skills. "The important thing is that we are together again. Let us focus on that, and try to make sense out of everything that has happened."

"I still can't believe this is the future," whispered Don, gazing out at the Neo-Manhattan skyline. "Everything looks so different."

"A hundred years has passed," Leo concurred. "There are Triceratons living on Earth now. I've seen them, and all sorts of other aliens, too."

"And people think we're just another minority group now," Mikey added happily. "Do you think this means we'll get some sort of government benefits package?"

"We've arrived," Serling said, bringing the Hovershell to a rough stop. "I trust you've all thought to smarten yourselves up."

No one bothered to answer as the hatch opened. "Ordinarily," Serling went on, as they exited out into the night. "Master Cody wouldn't be allowed visitors, much less at this hour."

"Sounds like a weird way to treat a big-shot CEO," Raph commented.

All five of them stopped dead in their tracks as their eyes landed on the building Serling had brought them to. The silver robot was brought to a stop forcefully by colliding with Raph's shell.

"Watch it, transistor breath," he warned.

"What is this place?" Leo wondered.

"This," Serling explained, righting himself. "Is Master Cody's newly remodeled private penthouse, known to the city at large as the Kame Dojo."

The house looked like something right out of feudal Japan, except for the fact that someone had shaped it to be a geodesic dome. The upper half had been designed to look like a turtle's shell, while the lower half resembled a Shinto shrine. There was even a torii in front, and a koi pond for decoration.

Looking over the side, Leo saw they were actually resting on top of a massive skyscraper. "Whoa, long way down," Mikey noted, peeking over the side next to him.

"Come," Serling said, passing under the torii calmly. "The master is waiting."

Everything about the inside of the Kame Dojo looked like it came from a museum. The turtles and Splinter gazed around the oversized foyer in wonder as the robot spoke.

"I'm sending word to the master now," Serling informed them. "Please try to refrain from breaking anything."

"Look at this stuff," Don said, pointing to a tapestry hanging on a wall. "This looks like it came from Shredder's lair."

"And this looks like one of Casey's hockey sticks," declared Raph, pointing at the opposite side of the room. "And his mask."

Both had been mounted with reverence. "Isn't that one of those Utrom exoskeleton thingies?" Mikey asked, gesturing to a casing further down.

"Yes," Serling mused, unimpressed. "The O'Neil-Jones family has a reputation for being pack rats."

Serlings eyes darted toward Splinter. "No offense meant."

"Master Splinter," Leo called out, sounding very worried. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but this looks like the Sword of Tengu."

Splinter marched over to where Leo stood at once, joined by the others. A curved, ornamental katana was resting on a stand. The blade appeared to be made of the same type of metal, and carried the mark of being from eleventh-century Japan. Someone had made a few modifications to it, however, including a smaller blade sticking out from the underside of the hilt. Despite these changes, it nevertheless bore a remarkable resemblance to the Utrom Shredder's infamous weapon.

"It would appear so," Splinter said, eying the glass casing where the sword was being kept.

"But how?" Mikey wondered. "I thought we destroyed it."

"This world has many mysteries," Splinter replied warily. "And it has been said that knowing too much about one's future can be too great a burden."

"Everyone," Serling called out, interrupting them. "I would like to introduce you all to Master Cody, heir to the O'Neil-Jones corporate empire, and CEO of O'Neil Shelltech."

Everyone turned, and looked in shock as a boy of about eleven descended the stairs. "It's you!" he cried out excitedly, grinning from ear to ear as he ran up to greet them. "It's really you. I can't believe you're all really here!"

Michelangelo was the one who broke the stunned silence. "Okay," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Wasn't expecting that."


	2. Episode 2  Culture Shellshock

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Re: Fast Forward

Episode 2

Culture Shellshock

by That Long-Haired Creepy Guy

_Master Splinter always says that the purpose of traveling the path of enlightenment is to gain wisdom. I always thought that, as we got older, I would begin to grasp why things happen, and have a better understanding about the world around us._

_ For the past year or so, we've had to fight so hard just to survive. We've faced down our greatest adversary time and again, only to have him return stronger than ever. I've extended the hand of friendship to someone who rejected the offer because of the same obligation that I live by. And I've stood powerless to protect the people I care about as evil nearly triumphed._

_ Then, something even greater and more terrible than anything we could have prepared for returned, and we almost failed to stop it. Looking back, I can't help but wonder why all of this has happened to us, and why the people I love find themselves in danger over and over again._

_ I still don't understand it. The trouble is, the most recent turn of events haven't made any sense, either. Something tells me, when we find the answers, I won't gain any clearer picture of why our lives are the way they are._

{} {} {} {} {}

"It's just a kid," Raph stated flatly, giving the boy a cocky once-over.

Donatello tilted his head slightly before looking toward Serling. "I thought you said he was the CEO of a major corporation."

"He is," Serling replied loftily, as if it were obvious.

"How old are you?" Mikey asked. "And have you got any video games around here?"

"Michelangelo," Splinter admonished, before stepping forward. "It is an honor to meet you, Cody-san."

"The... um, honor is all mine," Cody replied, looking very nervous suddenly. "I still can't believe you're all here."

"We've had some trouble with that ourselves," Raph replied, folding his arms angrily.

"Um, yeah." Cody looked away sheepishly. "I guess that's my fault. Right now, you're probably all anxious to hear about how you got here."

Raph snorted. "It crossed our minds."

"Come with me," Cody said, smiling again as he walked out of the foyer. "It'll be a lot easier if I show you instead."

The four turtles and their master followed the young boy and his robot out of the cathedral-sized entrance and down a side corridor.

"This place is amazing," Mikey observed excitedly. "Look at all this stuff! It's like one great big museum devoted to our whole lives."

This new corridor was packed with more stuff. Leonardo thought he saw a pair of swords hanging on the wall that looked just like his, and a framed set of nunchaku that could have belonged to Mikey at some point. There were also drawings here, sketches of various battles the turtles had been in that somebody had beautifully captured in charcoal.

"These are the surviving works of the man you know as Casey Jones," Serling explained.

"Casey drew these?" Don asked, bemused.

"Certainly," the robot answered. "With little to do following the initial establishment of O'Neil Shelltech, the patriarch decided to devote his leisure time toward getting back into artistry. Apparently, it had been a passion of his as a child."

Raph stopped in front of a large painting of the turtles as the four dragons, flying majestically together among the clouds.

"Incredible," he admitted. "You think you know a guy!"

"My laboratory is this way," Cody directed, pointing to a door up ahead on the left. "It's still a little messy. I hope that won't be a problem."

Donatello's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets once Cody depressed a button next to the door to open it. The turtles stood in shock at the workshop in front of them.

"Whoa," Mikey gasped, letting out an impressed whistle of approval. "This makes Donnie's little work bench back home look like a third-hand store."

Mikey then looked quickly at his brother. "No offense."

"None taken," Don replied, unable to tear his eyes away. "I think I just achieved techo-geek Nirvana."

The room was almost as large as the foyer had been, and loaded to capacity with every conceivable device a tinkerer could ask for. There were tools of all kind, none of which the turtles recognized, but obviously came from top quality. Experiments were running on different tables, while computer screens ran simulations and predicting various results.

"What I wanted to show you was over here," Cody explained, gesturing.

Both the turtles and Splinter followed as Serling made a point to keep himself posed between them and Cody at all times. "This was something I started working on about a year or so ago," Cody explained, leading them to a set of consoles. Panels as big as Serling were set up like department store mirrors. A set of knotted wires connected them together.

"I call it the Time Window," Cody said.

"I don't believe it," Donnie said, gasping. "A fully-synchronized, eight-point-three petahurtz tachyon bridge console with visual application and data-influx immersion. They were only beginning to discuss the theory in our time."

"I took some of the original principles that were developed at the tail-end of the twentieth century and built this," Cody said shyly. "The Time Window was only supposed to show me images of the past, not bring them here, though."

"How did it happen?" Leo asked, as Don approached the machine slowly.

"Well," Cody replied, watching Donatello as he examined the Time Window more closely. "The thing is, my great-grandfather, Casey, left behind a set of journals and drawings. Most everything he wrote about involved you guys in some way."

"Casey wrote about us?"

"All the time," Cody told Raph, nodding. "I grew up reading his stories. In fact, they were some of the first things my parents read to me when they were still alive."

Nobody quite new how to react to that bit of news. "Master Cody's parents disappeared during an explosion at O'Neil Shelltech," Serling threw in quickly, looking agitated as he threw a protective robot arm around the boy's shoulders. "Neo-Manhattan law prevents him from assuming the mantle of CEO formally until he turns eighteen. Until then, I serve as his caretaker alongside his mother's brother, Darius Dun, the acting chairman."

"Thanks for the information dump," Raph shot at him.

"See, I was always curious about your lives, and what you guys had done," Cody went on, as if nothing unusual had happened. "The thing is, there was only one old flatvid file of you in action, and after a hundred years, the quality wasn't that great. I started thinking about this, and after reading up on some book files concerning time travel, thought it might be cool to see if I couldn't invent a way to actually look into the past."

"So you invented the Time Window to cross-divide the tachyon structure fields," Don filled in, raising up now. "And project a 2D image onto a light-dark unstable molecular plate."

"Exactly," Cody said happily. "But a few months ago, while I was testing out a new hyper-light tube ray, something went wrong. My equipment detected a trans-spacial flux in the anti-matter streams. It was like something was trying to break through."

Cody walked over to one of the consoles and brought up a holographic image in the air in front of them. "I'm still not quite sure what it was," he said, as the holovid played a scrambled scene of what looked like light waves smashing through one another. "The event was over almost as quickly as it began, but it left a mess behind. The Time Window reacted to it, and because I had tuned in to watch you guys and Master Splinter..."

Cody froze. "I'm sorry," he apologized quickly, bowing low to the rat. "Is it alright if I call you that?"

Splinter smiled, and gave Cody a bow in return. "Please," he said. "Do continue."

"Yeah," Raph added. "I think Donnie here might explode if he doesn't hear the rest of your story."

"So, whatever the anomaly was," Donatello went on, ignoring Raph. "It created temporal ripples through the tachyon bridge, which the Time Window reacted to. And because the Window was zeroed in on us, the resulting gap in time and space swept us up."

"You fell into a temporal vortex of some kind," Cody finished, punching in some more keys, which caused the holograph to switch. "I tried to stop it, but couldn't react fast enough, so the only thing left was to try and get you out of there."

The turtles and Splinter gazed up as the footage of them swirling through the vortex together played. "Unfortunately," Cody continued. "The anomaly scrambled all my time data, so I couldn't access the coordinates to send you back to the point where you'd left from. The only thing left was to use the information from my time, and even that didn't work perfectly."

"Explaining why we all arrived here at different points," Don added, turning to his brothers. "The computers were too damaged to pin-point an exact moment."

"So we're stuck here?" Raph snarled.

"Maybe not," Don said, facing the Time Window again.

"Yeah," Cody said, moving to stand beside him. "I've had a lot of time to prepare while I was waiting on you guys to arrive. That anomaly did a number on the Time Window, but the sensors were recording everything that happened. I still have all the data from when the anomaly happened. Once I get the Window up and running again, we can try to recreate the process."

"What do we do in the meantime, though?" Mikey wondered.

"He's right," Leo agreed, earning him a look from Raph. "We don't have anywhere we can stay."

"You'll stay here, of course!" Cody blushed as the turtles stared in surprise. "That is, if you don't mind."

"Er, are you certain about this, Master Cody?" Serling spoke, looming over the boy again. "Surely some other arrangement can be made."

"Yeah," Leo said. "We don't want to be any trouble."

"You've managed that already," Serling shot at him. "I shudder to think what the tabloid news sites will say should they get wind of your activities."

"Serling," Cody warned.

"We would be honored to stay as your guests," Splinter told him. "But only if it will not be an imposition." 

"There's plenty of room," Cody insisted. "I had the whole place remodeled so that each of you can have your own space. I even studied what I could from the journals to make it more like your old home. That way, you'll be more comfortable."

"Sweet!" Mikey cried out. "I call dibs on the biggest space."

"The shell you do," Raph replied, smacking Mikey upside the head. "You're room stays the smallest no matter what time we're in."

"You see, Master," Serling said. "This is hardly the sort of barbaric behavior you ought to be exposed to."

"Listen, Serling," Cody said, exhaling deeply. "I want them to stay here. I've read about them all my life, and now they're actually here. The turtles are probably the closest thing to a family I have left."

"You still have me," Serling pointed out, looking hurt. "And, I suppose, your uncle as well."

"Come on," Cody said to the group of embarrassed mutants. "I want to show you guys to your rooms. It's going to be great having you here."

"At least someone thinks so," Serling muttered, once the group was out of earshot.

Cody led the group back through the corridors, giving them a quick tour. "This is the kitchen," he said. "Obviously. Down there is the living quarters, the meditation room, and the showers. Upstairs is where your rooms will be."

"Can I have the biggest one?" Mikey tried, which earned him another smack from Raph.

"All of your rooms are the same size, Michelangelo," Cody assured him, as they headed up the stairs. "I made sure there would be lots of space."

"Excellent!" the youngest turtle cried out. "Oh, and it's Mikey."

"Don," Donatello said, offering his three-fingered hand.

"Leo," Leonardo offered.

"Raph," the hot-headed turtle said. "And you're really the descendant of Casey and April, huh? I think I see some of the resemblance now."

Cody blushed. "This will be your room, Master Splinter," he said, opening the first door they came to. "Raph, your room is next door to his. Leo's is just down the hall from you. Don and Mikey, I put your rooms at the end of the corridor side by side."

"I owe you one, kid," Raph said, going to check out his space. "Mikey snores like a freight train on Sunday."

"At least I don't get gas when I sleep," Mikey replied, racing off down the hall before Raph could smack him again. "I wanna check out my room. I hope there's lots of video games to play, and comic books. Do they even make comic books in the twenty-second century?"

Cody watched as Don followed after his brother, albeit at a slower pace. "Are they always like that?" Cody wondered.

"Always," Leo said.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Splinter warned, smirking. "You humble us with your gracious hospitality, Cody-san. I hope that our presence here won't disrupt your life too much."

Cody bowed in response. "It's me who is humbled, Master Splinter. Thank you for accepting my invitation."

Serling watched the scene unfold, and felt a tremor in his circuitry. Running a quick diagnostic, he found nothing wrong and prepared to leave, but something made him stay rooted to the spot. Unbeknownst to him, in an office at the main O'Neil Shelltech building, a man with fat fingers and a leering smile was watching the same scene through the robots visual scope.

"Computer," Cody's uncle, the man called Darius Dun, barked. "Run a virtual scan on the alien creatures in this shot. Isolate, and determine their planet of origin. Give all background information about their physiology, strengths, weaknesses, and any unique abilities they may have."

A moment later, the computer beeped. "Unable to classify," it responded in a female's voice. "Subjects not known. No records match."

Something flickered on Darius's face as Leo placed a hand on Cody's shoulder. "Interesting," he said softly. "My nephew seems to have befriended a pack of unclassified offworlders passing themselves off as the O'Neil-Jones family freaks."

Darius folded his hands and gave the screen a cold smile. "That won't do at all."

{} {} {} {} {}

The next day, sunlight spilled through the glass windows that made up the outer walls. The brief silence inside the Kame Dojo was shattered as three green figures raced down the flight of stairs leading to the foyer.

Mikey let out a whoop of triumph as his feet touched the ground. "I win," he declared, throwing his hands up. "Victory goes to me!"

Raph landed next to him after performing a backward flip off the banister. "Only because you cheated," he snapped.

"It isn't my fault nobody said sliding down the banister was out," Mikey replied gleefully. "Maybe if you had a brain between your ears, you'd have figured that one out."

Raph growled. "I'm gonna put your foot up your own ass for that."

"Easy, Raph," Leo warned, calmly coming down the stairs. "We're guests in Cody's home. The least we can all do is be on our best behavior while we're here."

Raph caught the stern, rigid expression on his brother's face, and frowned. "What's the problem?" he wondered, as the grim expression on Leonardo's face seemed to cast a shadow over the area.

"We don't belong here," Leo said, casting his eyes toward something in the foyer. "Cody has opened his doors to us until he and Donatello can work out a way to get us back to our own time. Let's try not to do anything to cause problems while we're here."

"Come on, Leo," Mikey said, making a face. "We're in the future! How can this not be cool? Let's just kick back and enjoy ourselves for a while."

Raph nodded. "Yeah," he admitted gruffly. "You know how much I hate being caught agreeing with Mikey, but for once, this doesn't feel like a bad thing. We can go outside and just chill with the locals for once. Nobody here knows we're mutants."

"Oh! Oh!" Mikey said, jumping up and down. "We should go exploring later. I wanna take another look at that plaza I was in, and see how far video game technology has progressed in a hundred years. And pick out all the back issues of Justice Force that I've missed."

"I know we got off to a rough start," Raph told Leo. "But this is our big chance to try and fit in like normal people. What's to stop us from blowing it?"

Leo took one last look toward the Sword of Tengu off in the distance. "I guess," he said, following after his brothers as they headed for the kitchen.

"Great!" Mikey shouted. "But first, a ninja must have a hearty breakfast. Let's see what our generous benefactor left us to eat."

"Now you're talkin' my language," Raph chimed in.

The overhead lights in the kitchen came on automatically as Mikey entered, running at top speed for the refrigerator.

"Brrr! Chilly," he said gleefully, throwing the door open. "Let's see what we've got here. A ninja's most important meal is breakfast, after all, so what kind of junk food does Cody stock?"

"None!" Serling's voice rang sharply through the room as the robot entered behind Raph and Leo, who had wisely chosen to keep their distance while Mikey was hunting for something to eat.

"What?" Mikey pulled his frost-covered head out of the fridge in shock. "You gotta be kidding me."

"Hardly," Serling replied. "As the heir to O'Neil Shelltech, Master Cody must maintain a well-balanced, nutritious diet. 'Junk food', as your barbaric era once called it, is completely out of the question."

Defiantly, Mikey rummaged through the fridge again. "I don't believe it," he gasped, looking absolutely horrified. "There's no chocolate! No instant pizza! No frozen fish sticks or custard cakes! Not even a bag of double-fried Crispy Chips!"

"Move it," Raph said, nudging Mikey out of the way. "This turtle's hungry. Getting whisked away to a different century always gives me a big appetite."

"No, Raph! Don't look. It's worse than you could ever have imagined!"

Raph backed up. "What the? There ain't nuthin' in here but vegetables," he declared.

"Of course," Serling replied, looking over to Leonardo. "Fresh organic produce. What else would you expect to find in a refrigerator?"

"I can't believe this," Mikey groaned, staggering back. "Tell me this isn't happening."

"If you wish to dine on the sort of toxic swill that ruffians partake in," Serling said, glaring through his optic sensors. "Might I recommend the four of you and your rat go out to one of the establishments that lower-class citizens attend?"

Mikey stared blandly. "I think he means we should order out," Leo said.

"Great!" said Mikey, kicking the door shut.

"Please refrain from closing things with your feet," Serling growled.

"I'm in," Raph agreed. "Let's see if Cody can go. He is the one with all the bucks, after all."

"Absolutely not," Serling protested as the three headed out. "Master Cody will be engaging in his studies all morning. He certainly cannot leave to waste his valuable time wallowing in squalor with you pack of misanthropes."

"Actually, I think he's in the lab right now," Leo replied, looking back at Serling without stopping. "I heard him coming down the hall this morning. Donatello was wanting another look at the Time Window, so Cody volunteered to show him the blueprints."

"What?" If a robot could faint, Serling no doubt would have passed out cold. "He's alone in his laboratory with one of you four?"

"Excellent," Mikey cheered. "With two techno-geeks working around the clock, we'll be back home just in time for the premiere of the Justice Force animated series."

"What's to stop you from watching the whole show now?" Raph wondered.

The four of them reached the lab shortly, with a frantic-looking Serling in the lead. "Master Cody," he declared loudly, who was standing by the Time Window showing Don one of the components.

"Oh, hi Sterling," Cody said, looking up absent-mindedly at the robot. "I was just showing Donatello how the light particle servos connect with the tachyon flow to create a..."

"Never mind that right now," Serling interrupted, looming over the boy. "You should be at your console studying the underlying principles behind the Economic Guideline Charter of 2083, not wasting your time with this bunch."

"I can always study later," Cody replied calmly. "Besides, I was already caught up on my financial distribution protocols and the Late Supplementary Act's 2054 failure. Besides, the sooner I get the Time Window working again, the sooner I can help the turtles get home."

"That can wait until later," said Serling, seizing Cody by the back of his collar. "Much as I long to have them out of here, that's still no excuse for letting your workload slip."

"Serling!" Cody cried out, trying to get free.

"Give the kid a break, Buckethead!" Raph smacked Serling's arm, setting Cody free. "It's not like the world's gonna end if he doesn't finish his homework before noon."

"Listen to me, you half-shelled cretin," Serling bit back. "I am in charge here, and Master Cody's welfare has been my prime directive since I was brought online. If his uncle learned I was failing in my duties, I would be scrapped without a second thought."

"I'm starting to like the sound of this guy, then," Raph countered. "He'd probably be doing the kid a huge favor."

"Speaking of favors, Cody," Mikey said, looping an arm around Cody's shoulder. "We were thinking of going out for breakfast, and maybe having a look around the city today. Could you spot us some cash, just so Raph and Leo don't get arrested like last time?"

"Sure," Cody said, reaching for something in one of his jacket pockets. "Although, strictly speaking, no one has used printed currency in years. These days, everything is purchased through electronic transactions."

"What does that mean?" Leo asked, looking worried. "Are we stranded here without a dime to our names?"

"We weren't exactly rolling in dough in our own time," Raph reminded him.

"Actually," said Cody, holding up an electronic pad for them to see. "You need a Personal Identification Digit code before you can own or access a digital account. Most places won't allow any sort of transaction without them. I can program my hand-held to give you access to my codes, though. This pad will be marked with my security pass, so if anyone asks, just tell them you're a representative of mine."

"Another thing that's out of the question," Serling decided, snatching the pad away. "It cost a fortune just to get two of them out of jail. I won't have them bankrupting you with their frivolousness."

"Serling, enough," Cody insisted.

"Yeah," Raph said, giving the robot a solid kick to the backside, and knocking the pad out of his hands into Leo's.

"We'll be very careful," Leo swore to Cody. "Thank you for putting up with us."

"Get whatever you want," Cody told him. "Money is no problem."

"I wish I could say the same for your guests," Serling grumbled, giving Raph an especially loathsome glare.

"Let's go get Master Splinter," Don suggested. "While we're out, I can look and see if some of the parts we need for the Time Window are available."

"You just want a chance to see how tech-ed out the future has gotten," Raph ribbed gently.

"I want food!" Mikey whined. "It's been almost thirty minutes since I got out of bed, and we still haven't eaten."

Nobody paid Michelangelo any mind, least of all Serling, who led the group down to the hanger where the Hovershell was located.

"Thanks for seeing us off, Serling," Leonardo said as he climbed through the hatch after his sensei. "But we can handle it from here."

"I wasn't seeing you off," Serling replied, scoffing at the idea. "I was making sure none of you broke anything on your way out of here. Also, if there is even one single solitary scratch on that hovercraft, I will personally rearrange your..."

"Blow it out your carbon exhaust vents," Raph shouted as the hatch closed. "I'd love to see you try."

Donatello took the controls as Leo rode shotgun. "Amazing," Don said, working out how the controls functioned. "The technology in this time period is incredible. If O'Neil Shelltech is responsible, I can't imagine how they made so many advancements so fast."

"Yeah, yeah," Raph jeered, strapping himself in. "Just get us in the air."

"Can you fly it?" Leo asked worriedly.

Don gave his paranoid brother a smirk. "Look who you're talking to here, Leo."

The Hovershell rose into the air as the door to the bay spread open, bathing the area in the morning sunlight. Pressing a few buttons, Don seized the steering mechanism in his three-fingered hands, shoving it forward to rocket the hovercraft out into the Neo-Manhattan skyline.

"Oof!" Mikey grunted. "Not so rough, Donnie. My stomach still hasn't adjusted to this future time."

Donatello gave the controls a twist, which almost flipped the Hovershell over. "Sorry," he apologized. "There's a learning curve to this."

"At least he drives better than Serling," Raph noted.

Everyone, save Mikey, who was busy staring out the window, settled into their seats as the Hovershell began to steady itself. "So where should we go first?" Don asked the others as they cruised between two skyscrapers.

"FOOD!"

"Maybe just a quick tour around the city first?" Leo recommended. "Just so we can get a good look at what we're dealing with."

"Ahh, but I'm hungry now!" Mikey cried out.

"Sit down and strap yourself in," Splinter ordered. "I believe a tour of the city is in order. It will give us a chance to get our bearings."

"Thank you, Master Splinter," Leo replied.

"And," Splinter added. "It will make spotting the local tea shops much easier. This morning, I discovered Cody-san's tea chest was missing some of my personal favorite blends."

"Good think this crate comes with a map of the city," Don said, bringing up the hologrid. "According to this, there's a place in the lower end of New Chinatown. I think I can have us there in a few minutes."

"Just get us there in one piece," Raph said. "That's all I ask."

Don punched in the coordinates that were flashing on the hologrid, bringing up twin points of light that signaled their current location and destination. The Hovershell turned sharply in response, bringing them around the dock area of Neo-Manhattan.

Leonardo's face was unusually grim as he turned to face his father. "Master Splinter, do you think it's safe? Just going out into the open..."

"Sometimes, one must walk empty-handed amongst one's enemies, Leonardo," Splinter replied cryptically.

"Yeah, Leo," Raph agreed, clutching the seat as the Hovershell dipped sharply. "You're gettin' too paranoid. Learn to live a little."

"Besides," Splinter added, while Don slowed their descent. "This is a rare opportunity for us. After everything that has happened, I believe fate may have chosen to shine in our favor, and reward us with some leisure time."

"Let's hope so," Raph muttered. "Seems like every time something happens to us, it's always bad news. Might be nice to get a little R 'n' R in while we're stuck here."

"Not everything that happens in our lives spells disaster," Splinter told Leo as he turned back around in his seat. "You must learn to see the uniqueness of our situation as a gift, and not a curse, my son."

Leo said nothing as Don brought the Hovershell in a circle around the region of Neo-Manhattan labeled New Chinatown. A sigh escaped the eldest turtle's lungs before he forced himself to have a look at the place that would be their home for a while.

He sincerely hoped Splinter was right.

{} {} {} {} {}

New Chinatown looked to be one of the busiest neighborhoods on the island. Shops lined almost every corner of the street. Carts displayed holographic menus served bowls of ramen and fried vegetables to hungry pedestrians. Lovely young girls stood outside, motioning passers-by toward places that sold all manner of things.

The turtles moved through this part of the city with ease. New Chinatown appeared to be a popular spot for aliens. Beings from different planets muddled in and out of the different restaurants and stores alongside humans of all shapes and sizes. Nobody reacted to this as though it were strange. Thus far, the trip had been a blast.

Mikey had stumbled upon a retro-gamer store moments after they landed the Hovershell, which ended with Raph and Leo dragging him out at the owner's behest. Shortly after, Donnie came across a gadget store, the owner of which was a lovely-looking young woman with purple skin tone who spent several minutes flirting with the brainchild while explaining crystal circuitry to him.

Splinter had spent the last several minutes going over his stash of exotic teas. They'd finally located the place after leading Don away from the pretty cashier, who promised to send him her Wired address later on.

"She was pretty," Don admitted, blushing as Raph and Leo snickered.

"Oolong," Splinter muttered. "Red lotus, white jasmine with rice..."

"Look, Master Splinter," Leo said, getting the rat's attention. "There's a place that sells meditation candles. Want to go check it out?"

Splinter looked over to where his oldest son was pointing. There, sandwiched between two taller buildings, was a tiny, two-story store with narrow windows, each of which had candles burning in it. The building stood out as being odd in that it had no hologram signs flashing in front of it.

"You two go on," Raph said. "This turtle's gettin' hungry. We've been walking around for a good hour and still haven't eaten."

"Oh my gosh," Mikey cried out. "I was so excited that they had Helix 2.2 and Helix Outbreak in the same package that I totally forgot how starved I was."

"It looks like there are places to eat all over this part of town," Don noted. "Why don't we just pick a place and meet back up here later?"

"You guys go on ahead then," Leo said, as he and Splinter headed for the odd-looking shop. "We'll catch up."

A bell tinkled overhead as Leo held the door open for his father first, before coming in after. The place smelled of incense and dust. Lanterns hung down from the high ceiling. Shelves were packed so tightly together that there was barely room for either of them to move.

"This place is amazing, sensei," Leo said in a hushed tone. For some reason, he felt like he had stepped into a library, or some other place where silence was absolutely necessary.

"Agreed," Splinter replied.

The elderly woman at the register paid them no mind as they perused through the various items on the shelf.

"I wonder if I could get one of these." Leo held up the meditation pillow so that Splinter could see. "I feel bad about buying something on someone else's dime, though."

"It is of fine quality," Splinter mused, brushing a hand over the surface.

"Master Splinter," Leo said, placing the item back where he'd found it. "What are we doing here? You've taught us our whole lives that we must live in the shadows."

Splinter didn't answer right away, pretending instead that something else had caught his eye. "It is a strange time that we were brought to," the rat said, watching Leonard closely out the corner of his eye. "Life sometimes chooses to dispense it's gifts sparingly." 

"Yes, master," Leo said, getting frustrated. "But it feels like we were brought here for a reason. Are we supposed to change something, or learn something about our past?" 

Splinter's face grew very serious. "I do not have the answers you seek," he replied. "Though I do know that what you ask is not something to be sought after so hastily. For right now, we shall do what we came here to do."

"What's that?" Leo asked, as Splinter moved over to the next aisle.

"What else?" the rat replied, smiling now. "Shop. I see some excellent _geta_ over in the corner."

Leo shook his head and followed after his master, reaching for the pad that Cody had given them in the process, only to find it missing.

"Don has Cody's PID pad," he said. "It looks like our shopping spree is canceled until they get back."

The little bell above the shop door let out another tinkle of warning, alerting all inside that someone else had entered. A robed figure whose hood concealed much of their face strode in purposefully and made straight for the counter.

"I am looking for a humanoid rat and turtle," he said to the elderly woman, before showing her something underneath his robe. "Species and planet unknown. Have you seen them?"

The woman didn't blink, but calmly pointed to the corner where Splinter and Leo were watching. "Excellent," the figure said, before raising a very large gun up, which hummed ominously as the absurdly-large barrel began to glow. "Then let the hunt begin!"

{} {} {} {} {}

"Excellent!"

Mikey was positively drooling as the vendor passed a bowl full of pork and garlic ramen over into his hands.

"This part of the city has everything," he cried out happily before chowing down.

Donatello watched the spectacle that was his younger brother eating before turning to the cook. "I think I'll have the same," he said, passing the PID pad into the alien's pronged hands. "But with extra peppers, and no mustard."

"How can you have ramen without mustard?" Mikey wondered, letting out a loud belch as he looked up from his empty bowl. "Can I have another one?"

"Mikey," Don groaned.

They had left Raphael behind at a shop that sold Fujian by the bowlful, promising to come back once they'd picked up their own orders. Mikey had spotted the cart further down, and was already gone before Donatello could stop him. Raph, ever eager to be rid of Mikey for as long as possible, had given his blessing to leave him there.

"What's this thing?" Mikey asked, pointing to a small yellow dragon figurine as he set his bowl back down.

The alien let out several clicks and chattering sounds before the translator on his chest kicked in. "An ancient symbol of protection and power," he said, watching Mikey closely. "Very powerful, and very expensive."

"Oh, I get it," Mikey said excitedly, snatching the figurine up. "We studied this kind of thing before with the Ninja Tribunal. Remember, Don? Watch me!"

"Mikey, put that thing down!"

Mikey ignored his brother and shut his eyes tightly. "Focusing," he said slowly. "Stealthing. Focusing and stealthing."

Don opened his mouth as the vendor glared angrily, but both were silenced as the statue began glowing brightly. A brilliant electrical energy surrounding the figurine for a moment, before it flared out, blinding each of them. Several nearby pedestrians froze in their tracks as the effigy of a golden dragon appeared above Michelangelo.

Mikey opened his eyes. "I don't believe it," he cried out, overjoyed. "Donnie, look! I actually got this thing to work. Mikey still got the magic touch, bro!"

The vendor gave Donatello a droll glare. "What is with your friend?" he asked, once the translator did it's job. "He acts like he's something special. Of course the dragon figurine works. Like I would pay for some second-hand job from a talisman crafter."

The dragon flexed in the air and let out a roar. No one around them seemed to find this more than mildly interesting now that the initial shock had worn off.

Don took note of this. "No one is surprised that it's magic?" he asked. "They know it isn't just a holographic illusion?"

The alien vendor sputtered. "I didn't realize some of the bad rumors about New Chinatown had drifted that far outside the solar system," he grumbled, folding both sets of arms over his chest. "Despite what you may have heard, the people here aren't simpletons."

"I'm sorry," Don replied quickly, as the dragon faded from sight. "We only arrived here yesterday. Where we come from, magic isn't practiced out in the open like that. I meant no disrespect."

"Hey, do you think I can make it come back again?" Mikey asked, looking at Don.

"Put that down!" the vendor ordered, before looking back to Don again. "Oh, and incidentally, according to the Wired, this PID pad was reported stolen just a little while ago. I've already signaled the LoneStar Mages to come and arrest you both for grand identity theft."

"What?" Mikey and Don exclaimed together.

"You both still owe me for your meal," the vendor added calmly, extending one arm out. "If you don't mind, please pay up before they come and drag you away like the dregs of the galaxy that you are."

An explosion from back down the street where they'd come from saved the two from answering. Don and Mikey each took one look at each other before taking off. Mikey tossed the dragon figurine back to the vendor as they left, forcing him to leap across the hot cooking vats to catch it.

Up ahead, Raph had already left his table, and was moving toward the small meditation shop where they'd seen Leo and Splinter go into.

"What's going on?" Don asked him as blaster fire filled the air directly above their heads.

"I don't know," Raph replied, shoving them to the side out of the way. "But take cover!"

Blaster fire exploded in mid-air above them. The shock waves created a distortion that caused the atmosphere around them to ripple. As Don stood up, his nostrils began to itch with the distinct smell of ozone. Raph followed, catching sight of the robed figured up ahead opening fire on them with his oversized gun.

Near his feet lay their sensei.

"Why can't I move?" Mikey groaned, raising up.

"Amazing," Don said, as the waves around them thickened, becoming visible as they gathered closer. "The residuals from the blaster create some kind of ionization in the air. Almost like a..."

"Force field," Mikey finished, as the bubble closed in around them.

"Wonderful," Raph snarled.

"It is wonderful," said the robed figure, stepping toward them now. "It's technology. Everyone knows that technology is wonderful."

The hood concealing the gun-toting stranger's face fell back, revealing a humanoid cat's face. A metal plate covered the ear and left-half of his face. The glowing red eye zeroed in them for a moment as he lowered his weapon.

"It's especially wonderful when technology works in your favor," said the feline, as he placed a cigar in his mouth before lighting it with the exposed cybernetic forefinger. "Take me, for example."

Don blinked. "Are you some sort of cyborg?"

"Yes," the cat replied. "What of it?"

"Nothing," Don replied.

"An alien cyborg, huh?" Raph scoffed. "That's another weird thing that's off the list."

"And you are unidentified offworlders," the cat replied, letting out a puff of smoke. "I would not point appendages if I were in your position."

"Where's Leo?" Raph demanded, hammering his fist against the force field. "And what have you done with Master Splinter?"

"I am called Verminator-X," the cat said, before glancing back to where Master Splinter lay unconscious. "People hire me to exterminate vermin from the city. The five of you managed to make enemies out of someone very powerful."

"Figures," Raph grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"But we hardly know anyone here," Don insisted, pressing both palms against the bubble helplessly. "We only arrived in Neo-Manhattan yesterday."

"Yeah," Mikey added, nodding. "Even for us, this is still early to be attracting trouble."

"Not my problem," Verminator-X replied, turning around. "Assuming your fellow terrapin survives, come and find me. I'll take the rat as my prize, but you're free to try and reclaim him. I was told I could make this interesting."

"Get your stinkin', furry ass back here!" Raph roared, pounding on the side of the bubble now.

"Don't worry," Verminator-X said calmly, not looking around as he scooped Splinter up off the street. "A force field like that never lasts very long, and I wouldn't have brought this particular weapon if I wanted you dead right away. There's no sport or thrill in hunting something so quickly."

The three turtles watched helplessly as Verminator-X carried Splinter over one shoulder to a hoverbike parked nearby. With a high-pitched whine, Verminator-X gunned the engine and took to the sky. As the dust settled, the streets began to fill again with people, who avoided the bubble the turtles were trapped inside of as they ran past.

"Let us out of here!" Raph screamed.

"It's weird," Don was saying over his brother's yells. "Somehow, the oxygen in here hasn't decreased. This bubble appears solid enough to keep us trapped in, yet unstable enough to allow air to pass through."

"Save the techno-geek shit for some other time, Donnie," Raph barked. "In case you didn't notice, that tin-plated fuzz-face just abducted Master Splinter."

"We saw, Raph," Mikey said, growing frantic. "What I wanna know is what happened to Leo?"

From within the damaged shop nearby, an elderly woman stuck her head out through the busted door frame. Seeing the three turtles trapped, she made an exasperated face before stepping out into the street. Reaching into her sleeve as she strode toward them, the woman began muttering something in what sounded vaguely like old Cantonese.

With a flick of her wrist, she tossed a strip of paper through the air. As it stuck to the outside of the bubble, her chanting grew louder, and the paper talisman began to glow.

"Stick close together," Don advised. "If she's doing what I suspect..."

Energy sizzled through the bubble, making it crack in places. "That's all I needed," Raph declared, swinging his foot forward.

The foot connected with one of the cracked spots. The entire bubble gave a great shudder as the crack spread all the way through it. Mikey and Don tried to cover themselves as pieces rained down on their heads as it collapsed. The woman folded both arms as if this were no great feat for her, then turned away from them.

"Come inside," she instructed. "The other one is in there."

None of them moved at first. "Hurry," she added impatiently. "The LoneStar Mages don't consider New Chinatown a big priority, but with all the racket that scuzrunner made, it's bound to get their attention. No one wants to be caught out in the streets while they're snooping around."

The others noticed now that the streets were clearing. Taking the hint, they followed after the woman as she led them inside her shop.

Leonardo was resting in a chair near the back. Several candles were burning near him, as well as fancy-looking incense containing filled with herbs. Their leader's eyes came into focus as the others approached.

"Guys," he groaned. "Where's Master Splinter?"

"The creep calling himself Verminator got away with him," Raph replied.

Leo cringed, and hung his head in shame. "It's my fault," he moaned. "I let my guard down. Master Splinter said we should just enjoy ourselves, and I didn't expect anything to go wrong in here."

"We'll get him back, bro," Raph assured him.

"Absolutely," Don said with conviction.

"No sweat," added Mikey, a hundred-percent serious for once.

"You up for this, bro?"

Leo stared at Raph, rage seething behind his eyes. "Just point me in the direction they went."

"You four won't be going anywhere just yet," the elderly woman said, pointing out the window. "Not with the LoneStar Mages patrolling the streets. The whole block was bound to have seen that fight. They'll have your description in a matter of nanoclicks."

The woman let out an uncharacteristic growl as she kicked aside a broken stool. "That stupid Nightrunner," she hissed. "This is inexcusable behavior. The guild is sure to have his whiskers for this."

"Ma'am," Leo began, getting up.

"Madame Tao," she corrected, looking over at him. "It's what the locals call me, anyway. Sit back down before you fall over."

"I'm fine," he insisted. "Can you tell us where this Verminator would be?"

Madame Tao scoffed. "First," she said warningly. "We'd better get below. There was little time to cover our tracks, so somebody is sure to tell the LoneStars that you were seen coming in here."

Reaching into her robes, Madame Tao drew out a hand-carved glass talisman that was shaped like a serpentine dragon.

"Follow me," she instructed, pointing the dragon at a spot on the floor.

The eyes on the glass figure glowed. A clear spot on the floor beneath the turtles' feet responded, before popping up to reveal a concealed trap door.

"Down there," she said, putting the dragon away. "Quickly now."

The turtles made haste, foregoing the ladder by leaping straight down. Madame Tao waited until last to descend, albeit at a much slower pace.

"What is this place?" Don wondered, looking around at the underground workshop.

"Running the store is a family business," Madame Tao said, shoving Mikey aside. "Nobody else wanted to do it. I studied technomancy at XGU for three years before I had to drop out. These days, I'm more of a tinkerer than anything, but it's a hobby that keeps me company while I wait for my grandkids to call."

No one said anything.

"Now," Madame Tao said, folding her hands together. "Let's talk business. I'm guessing you want to know how you can get back your rat friend."

"He's our sensei," Leo explained. "And our father."

That got Madame Tao's attention. "A genealogy chart I simply must see someday," she muttered. "Later perhaps, though. We have our own way of dealing with problems in New Chinatown. Letting punks shoot the place up is bad for tourism."

"If you could help us in any way," Leo said, bowing. "We would be most grateful."

"In other words," Raph warned. "Either give us something we can use, or quit wasting our time."

"You are the ones wasting mine," Tao bit back. "And you can keep your gratitude. No one here would buy it from me. What I want is for the four of you to take down Verminator-X."

Mikey blanched. "Um, exactly what do you mean?"

"Remove him from the picture," she elaborated. "Letting him get away with blowing up my business will make me look weak in the eyes of the locals. You do not live in this part of the city for as long as I do by appearing vulnerable."

"We aren't killers," Leo insisted.

"But you want your father back, no?" The look on Madame Tao's face made Leonardo hesitate. "Neo-Manhattan is not a place for invertebrates. You either have a spine, or get one surgically installed. For the most part, you three look like competent fighters, if hopelessly outclassed in terms of weaponry. That much, I can help you with."

"So you'll outfit us with some better weapons if we go after this Verminator-X guy for you?" Mikey said hesitantly, putting it together.

"But we don't know where he is," Don countered, not liking the situation at all.

"There will be something on the Wired," Madame Tao said dismissively. "By now, he's probably posted his coordinates for you to find."

"You mean," said Don, frowning. "He just put up where he went online for the whole world to see?"

"All Nightrunners have to keep a guild site," Tao insisted, giving him a weird look. "How else do you think companies and single-parties do business with them?"

Leo watched as Madame Tao moved over to a holo-console near one of her work benches. "Don," he said, after a moment. "Go and see if you can't give Madame Tao a hand. The rest of us will keep watch upstairs in the shop to make sure nobody disturbs either of you."

"Leo?" Don looked as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you sure about all this?"

"Master Splinter needs us," Leo pointed out. "We can argue about whether this is the right thing or not later. Right now, getting him back is our only priority."

"We're with you, Leo," Raph said. "All the way."

Reluctantly, Don wandered over to where Madame Tao stood. Mikey, meanwhile, was looking up at the trap door above them.

"What if those Star magic-user guys, or whatever they're called, are up there?" he asked, as Raph pushed him aside to climb the ladder.

"Bring 'em on," Raph replied. "I've been wantin' to take another crack at that bunch."

"Keep a low profile," Leo instructed, coming up after him. "We're just going to establish a perimeter, and stand watch."

"I hope Madame Tao keeps snacks up there," Mikey said, coming up last. "Being inside that force field made me hungry again."

Madame Tao cast a glare toward the others as they slipped out. "You have a very interesting family," she told Donnie. "We were only down here together for a few minutes, and yet, it's managed to make me appreciate my own more."

"They can have that affect on people," Don replied, giving her a lop-sided smirk. "What can I help you with?"

"This is technomancer stuff," she insisted, shooing him away. "Not something for amateurs to be playing around with."

Donnie surveyed the strewn parts across the bench and quickly put it together in his mind. "You combine science with mysticism," he stated, as Madame Tao reached for a nearby multi-tool. "Blending technical weaponry with the arcane."

"Very good," she said, not looking up at him. "Not very impressive, but still good, I suppose. Since you have the basic grasp of the concept, I guess it wouldn't hurt to let you sit in while I work."

"Awesome," said Don.

"Interesting regional dialect," Tao muttered. "Now, what sort of weapons do you and your brothers specialize in? I notice you don't have a translator, or any sort of equipment with you, so it looks like I'll have to throw that in with the package."

{} {} {} {} {}

"Keep to the shadows," Leo hissed.

"Yeah, Leo," Raph grunted softly. "We've done this kind of thing before, you know."

The little shop had been empty when they had pushed open the trap door hatch to get a quick glance around. Once he was sure the coast was clear, Leonardo ordered them up, and to disappear from sight fast. Outside, figures could be seen milling around in the street. It looked as though the LoneStar Mages had arrived, and were casing the area.

"Why haven't they come near this joint?" Raph wondered, keeping his sais out.

"Who knows?" Leo replied, his eyes staying sharp. "We have to hold this position for as long as possible, until Don and Madame Tao are finished."

Raph cocked his head toward his older brother for a brief second. "Are we really going through with this, Leo?"

"I don't like this," Mikey whined. "I miss Klunk. I hope April and Casey came by the lair and remembered to feed him."

"Mikey, I think we've had enough problems with cats for one day, so don't make me come over there and smack you."

Raph's eyes narrowed as one of the outside figures drew near. "Here they come," Leo warned. "Don't attack them unless you have to!"

A figure wearing long sleeves and a hood stepped through the entrance. His eyes seemed to be glowing as he surveyed the room.

"Three of them," he called out. "I can't get a reading on what classification, though. Something about them feels different, but I detect that they're male."

"No heavy-duty spells," a commander outside ordered. "Not until we know what we're dealing with. Veilgazer, you may withdraw and return to base. We'll take it from here."

The Veilgazer began backing up. "Take heed," he said, while leaving. "It could just be due to the magical items the shopkeeper had stocked. I saw several impressive items that weren't in pieces."

"We'll collect our discount from her later," the commander's voice said. "Get ready to move in."

"So much for keeping to the shadows," Raph muttered. "Any ideas, Fearless Leader?"

Leo gripped his ninjaken in frustration. "Get ready," he said. "On my signal."

A soft breeze drifted through the door, catching the turtles off-guard as it grew rapidly in strength and force. Seconds later, they were holding on for dear life as a miniature tornado whipped items around the room in a frenzy.

"The hell?" Raph managed to gasp out.

"Not again," Mikey screamed, reaching for the banister in desperation. "This is worse than last time!"

"Stay calm," Leo called out, sending his voice out to his brothers.

Another robed figure was standing in the doorway, immune to the wind's effects somehow. "I see them," he said to no visible person.

"Excellent," Leonardo just barely heard. "Move in for the kill."


	3. Episode 3  A Game of Cat and Mouse

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Re: Fast Forward

Episode 3

A Game of Cat and Mouse

by That Long-Haired Creepy Guy

_When I was little, the guys and me would always play ninja tag. I was pretty good at it, and loved staying one step ahead of Raph. Today, though, we met somebody who hated losing even more than Raphael does, if that's possible._

_ Master Splinter was kidnapped, and this robot cat dude with a big gun has been leading us all over town on a wild goose chase while we try to figure out where our sensei is. The plan is to tag the guy, then make him give up the info. Unfortunately, even by cat standards, this guy is pretty fast._

_ I wish there were an easier way of doing this. After spending so much time running, I get the feeling my bros and I are headed straight for trouble._

_ I'm usually right about these things, and me being right about something is rarely a sign of something good happening._

{} {} {} {} {}

Cody raised up from the console he'd been staring at blankly for the past half-hour as the door to his study slid open. Serling entered behind a large man with a mustache and narrow eyes that seemed to fix on Cody at once.

"Your uncle, Darius Dun, is here to see you, Master Cody," Serling announced.

"Cody, my dear boy," Darius greeted, stretching his words out just right as he approached the child with arms raised. "How have you been?"

"Great, Uncle Darius," Cody said. "I was just working on the latest theories regarding criminal finance and embezzlement leads. What brings you hear?"

Darius's face stretched into a painful frown. "Can't a man visit his favorite nephew?" he asked, feinting hurt feelings. "I'm concerned about you is all. You have called or messaged in a few days now. Plus, there were all these strange rumors going on down at the main office."

"Oh?" Cody turned back to his console as he spoke. "What sort of rumors?"

"Ah, I'm sure it's nothing," Darius insisted, keeping one eye on Cody as he swiveled in his chair. "Just some reports from the financial office. Something about unusual activity in one of your personal accounts, plus some rubbish about you inviting a bunch of criminals into your home. Still, I do worry..."

"It's okay, Uncle Darius," Cody said, looking at the older man now. "I've just been busy lately, is all. I've come up with some new equipment specs for the decontamination project that O'Neil Shelltech has going on in the Gulf Coast. It should be ready by month's end."

"Wonderful!" Darius beamed as he gave Cody's shoulder a very tight squeeze. "The Prime Minister of the Southern Confederation will be thrilled. Once you've finished, send me the blueprints, and I'll contact the man at once. They'll be relieved to have the ball rolling at last. Without all your hard work, in a few more years, the coastal territories would be unlivable."

"It's no big deal," Cody insisted.

Darius smirked as he backed away. "Well, I shouldn't keep you from your studying," he said casually. "Oh, Serling, before I leave, would it be alright if I had a word with you in private?"

"Certainly," the robot replied, bowing as Darius exited the room.

Serling followed after Darius as he lead the android back down the hall, away from any chance of Cody overhearing. Darius had learned from the years of spying on his nephew through the mother hen of a machine not to underestimate the boy. He had his family's curiosity and predisposition toward finding unwanted trouble, after all. Once they were in the kitchen, Darius turned around to face Serling directly.

"Yes, sir?" Serling asked, as Darius removed something from his pocket. "You wanted a word with me?"

"Actually, I lied." Darius grinned. "I need two words; Protocol: Alpha."

Serling staggered a little as his systems began a hard shutdown. "Oh... my," the robot muttered as he felt himself slipping away.

Once the process was complete, Darius depressed the switch hidden in Serling's lower abdominal area. This caused the robot's drive to burst free. Darius slipped the crystal cube into the slot, then gave the slot a slight nudge to coax it back inside.

"Serling," he said in an authoritative tone. "I have some new instructions for you regarding young Cody's new flatmates."

Serling's eyes flickered to life again. "Yes, sir," the android said promptly in a much more digitized voice. "What are your orders?"

{} {} {} {} {}

The wind had been bad enough. The lightning was the icing on a cake of disaster. Very little of the shop's interior had been left intact. With no other cover, and few options left, the turtles had taken cover behind the counter. More lightning bolts burned spots on the floor and on top of the old wooden slab as they dove behind it.

"Just great," Raph scowled. "What the hell is keepin' Don?"

"We have to maintain this position," Leo insisted, gripping his swords. "Give him and Madame Tao the time they need to finish, or else all of this is for nothing. We still have to find Master Splinter."

Mikey let out a shrill sound as another lightning bolt flashed near his head. "I wanna go home now," he declared. "Where the police can't thrown storms at us for disturbing the peace."

"Come on, Leo," Raph insisted, giving his brother an angry glare. "We gotta take it to them. They're comin' closer by the second."

"Right," Leo agreed, to Raph's utter surprise. "We rush them on three. Keep your guards up, and don't let them find that trap door."

"Got it," Raph said, raising up. "Three!"

The robed LoneStar Mages had begun gathering inside the shop, some with their arms raised high to maintain the wind storm while the others fired off lightning bolts. Raph aimed for the nearest one, letting lose with a guttural yell as he stabbed forward with his sais, only to wind up on the receiving end of an electrical shock for his trouble.

Leo was able to use the distraction to duck past the ones throwing electricity, and go for the wind weavers. Two fell with but a few well-placed kicks to the gut. Mikey took the idea from Leo and ran with it, snatching broken objects up off the floor with his feet, then batting them through the air with his nunchaku. The wind currents did the rest, and knocked down the stragglers his sword-wielding brother had left for him. At once, the wind began to die down.

The lightning-wielders knew they'd been left wide open, and summoned bolts to their hands at once. Raph, however, had recovered from the hit he'd taken by this point, and was ready for a rematch.

"Here," he jeered, slamming his foot down on a loose floor board, and sending the other end up into the crotch of the nearest Mage. "I call this one the nutcracker."

"Ouch!" Mikey cried out. "Foul, dude."

Raph side-kicked the Mage into the path of another Mage's electrical blast. "Yeah, everybody here is real shocked, Mikey."

"Not yet," Leo quipped, catching another off-guard with his blades. "But they will be."

The wounded Mage's blast caught another one, leaving one left for Mikey. "Sorry, pal," he said gently, catching the man with a blow to the back of the head. "I don't have anymore electricity puns. Good night!"

Raph slammed a foot down on one Mage as he tried to stand. "That went well," he noted confidently. "And we didn't even need our geek department's special gear."

"Um, Raph?" Mikey's voice quivered as he pointed out the shattered window. "Spoke too soon, bro."

Lights flashed as hover vehicles drifted down toward the ground en mass. "Typical," Raph groaned. "So now whatda we do?"

"We can't take on that many," Mikey insisted, giving his nunchaku a twirl as more vehicles arrived. "Leo, we need a plan."

The flap on the trapdoor slammed open, getting their attention. "Finished," Donatello declared, climbing out with an armful of equipment, and Madame Tao close behind. "Guys, this technomancer equipment is amazing."

"Save it for later, Don," Leo warned, motioning toward the door. "We've got company. Are you sure this stuff will work."

"Of course it will work," Madame Tao insisted, sounding very angry. "I designed it, of course. Put everything here on. Thanks to your brother's help, I was able to customize it to fit your specific profiles."

"She even made us new weapons," Don added gleefully. "I was able to upgrade my bo to do all sorts of cool things. Wait until you guys see."

"Show later," Tao insisted. "More cops are coming. Get changed, then go out the hidden entrance in back. I've programed your wrist comms so that they'll show you where Verminator-X posted his challenge. Make sure you take him out."

Leo grabbed the packet from Don that contained swords, knowing it was made for him. Dark blue gauntlets and leggings covered the forearms and ankles. The same material had been used to make some kind of color-coded breast plate. There was also a covering for their faces, in place of the usual bandana mask. All of them had animal designs woven into the fabric. Leo's was a blue Chinese dragon. Raph had a flaming bird, Mikey's was a yellow dragon similar to his, but more feral somehow, and Don's had some type of large cat printed on it, maybe a tiger.

The two ninjaken glowed a soft florescent blue color. "Vibration blades," Don explained. "For Raph, we have laser sais. Mikey, your nunchaku contained offensive and defensive properties based around energy attack principles, and Madame Tao was nice enough to install a small concussion blaster in the tip of my bo, along with a few other nifty add-ons."

"You can show off the gear later!" Tao shrieked, as the LoneStar Mages began assembling outside. "Get going!"

"This way," Don said. "I know where the secret exit is."

Madame Tao was placing several glowing stones she'd taken out of a drawer behind the counter in a circle. As the turtles ran past, Leo heard her chanting in Cantonese again. A bright flash followed them out of the room just as the LoneStar Mages burst onto the scene. A force field of some kind had spread up out of the floor, cutting the room in half, and keeping the Mages back.

"Come on," Don insisted.

Leo followed Don and the others into the back, past the main corridor that led to what looked like a rear exit door, and most likely where several Mages were waiting for them. Ducking into a room behind Mikey, he watched as Raph helped Don move a shelf out of the way.

"It's behind here," Don explained, punching in a code on a nearby panel. "This is an old-style elevator that goes straight up to the roof. From there, I should be able to send a signal to the Hovershell so it can pick us up."

"Good work, Donatello," Leo complimented, as the doors swung open. "Let's go find sensei."

It sounded like a war had broken out in the main part of the shop. From the sound of things, though, Madame Tao was the one who had the upper hand. Leonardo hesitated a moment, then ducked into the elevator alongside his brothers, pressing the button to close the doors. The elevator gave a rather hard lurch, then began to rise.

It was a very short trip to the top. "We're here," Don said, as they exited together. "Now I just need to bring the Hovershell close enough."

"We can't stay here," Leo said, as the four of them ducked behind the shed that served as the elevator's capsule. "There are too many LoneStar hover vehicles. If they see the Hovershell come near this place, it'll be a dead giveaway."

"We just need to move further down," Don insisted. "The Hovershell can pick us up there."

The LoneStar hover vehicles lurked close to the building's edge on the far side, but no one paid the turtles notice as they slipped along. Mikey predictably almost stumbled, twice in fact, nearly exposing them in the process. Thankfully, no one expected to find the turtles on the rooftops. Once they were far enough away, Don began hacking the Hovershell's control systems, and send a message to it so they could be picked up.

"You all have exact change, I hope?" Don quipped as the Hovershell descended next to the edge of the roof with it's hatch wide open. "Please strap yourselves in, and remain seated at all times during your flight. Thank you for traveling Air Turtle!"

"Stow it, Donnie," Raph barked, stomping up the hatch ramp. "Let's get movin' already."

"Master Splinter is waiting for us," Leo said, climbing up. "We should get going. Those LoneStar Mages are going to put things together eventually. The sooner we leave the area, the better."

"On our way," Don replied, going in last.

The others strapped themselves in as Don canceled the autopilot and took control manually. The Hovershell took off out of New Chinatown for the upper atmosphere at breakneck speed.

"At least his driving's gettin' better," Raph noted in a surly tone.

Leonardo ignored him. "Madame Tao said that this Verminator guy would want us to find him," he said to Don. "Can you locate him?"

"Actually, Leo," Don said, steering around a line of double-skyway traffic blocking their path. "We don't have to. Madame Tao was right when she said that Verminator-X would leave us a message on the Nightrunner guild forums."

"He actually told us where he's hiding?" Mikey's jaw practically dropped into his lap. "This guy must have flipped his circuitry."

"Going by his profile, he's more of a professional hunter," Don replied knowingly, taking a sharp turn as the coordinates came up on the hologrid map. "Apparently, he isn't the only one, either."

Don paused as they came to a stop near a building. "Madame Tao explained some of it to me while I was helping her down in the basement," Don told them, swirling his seat around. "Here in Neo-Manhattan, there are a lot of aliens and humans who, for whatever the reason, don't have PID codes. Without them, they're basically illegal citizens, and have to do whatever jobs they can to survive. People call them Nightrunners. A lot of major companies or important figures will hire these guys to do dangerous jobs they can't afford to be caught doing."

"There's a whole profile site on the Wired that gives these guys status, figures, and all sorts of information," Don went on, holding his brothers' attention for once. "Verminator-X hunts bounties professionally. He cares just as much about the thrill of the hunt as he does catching whoever he was sent after."

"Meaning," Leo cut in. "Somebody sent him after us."

"But who would want to kill us here?" Mikey wondered. "It doesn't make any sense. Aside from Cody and Serling, people don't even know we're mutants."

"We'll figure that out later," Leo ordered. "Don, where did Verminator-X want to meet us at?"

"On a bridge in the Lower East side," Don said, pointing to the glowing dot on the hologrid. "Just outside Little Orleans. I can have us there in a few clicks."

"A few what?" Raph asked, as Don took the controls again.

"Uh, sorry," Don said sheepishly, before rocketing the Hovershell down again. "It's something I heard Madame Tao say."

"Just get us there, Don," Leo said grimly. "And fast."

The trip in the Hovershell took them all of ten minutes. On a crumbling old bridge leading down into a sector labeled as Little Orleans, looking up at the sky, was Verminator-X. Master Splinter was nowhere in sight as Don brought the Hovershell down to a level position in mid-air.

"I've put the air brakes down," Don said, getting up out of the seat. "That bridge doesn't look stable enough to land on."

"Great, Donnie," Leo said absent-mindedly. "Did anyone see sensei down there?"

"Fuzz face must've stashed him somewhere," Raph replied, gripping his laser sais. "It looks like we'll just have to beat Splinter's location out of him."

"Maybe we could just bribe him with some catnip?" Mikey offered. "I don't wanna get trapped in one of those bubble things with Raph again."

"Don," said Leo, turning to his brother. "Take the Hovershell and search the area. Chances are, Master Splinter is somewhere nearby."

"I'm on it," Don complied. "Oh, and before I forget, press the color-coded buttons on your wrist comms."

Leo depressed the light blue one that Don was pointing to. At once, the dark blue fabric that made up their new gear turned jet black, and spread across their bodies like a liquid gel.

"It's a type of bio-metallic unstable fabric," Donnie explained, while parts of their uniforms turned purple, red, and orange respectively. "It'll provide you with extra protection during fights. Remember, your weapons have upgrades on them now. Contact me during the fight, and I'll walk you through them."

"Wicked cool," Mikey cried out.

"Betcha we could kick some serious ass with this stuff," Raph said, grinning. "Donnie, you are the turtle."

"We'll keep Verminator-X busy," Leo said, as Raph and Mikey leaped out the hatch. "Contact us when you find Master Splinter."

Leo's feet touched the decayed bridge next to his brothers as the Hovershell rose up out of sight. Verminator-X was watching the three of them, giving little to no notice of the Hovershell's departure. The humanoid cat's organic eye squinted at them for a moment.

"Where is Master Splinter?" Leonardo demanded, as all three of them drew their weapons.

"What have you done with our sensei?" Raph snarled, bringing his laser sais up.

"My employer made me swear to kill all of you," Verminator-X said in answer, raising his force field gun. "But what he doesn't know won't kill me, so I'll make you a deal. I'm guessing your brother left to look for him while you three keep me distracted. If he can locate the rat before I kill the three of you, they can live."

"Fat chance, robo-whiskers," Raph jeered. "I'm gonna get an answer out of you, even if I have to swing you over my head by your tail to get you to talk!"

Verminator-X fired in response. "Try it, reptile."

The turtles rolled forward, dodging the blast, and moving in to attack. Verminator-X hit a switch on the side of his blaster as Leo leaped down at him with swords raised. A glowing yellow net exploded from a side pocket, catching the ninja off-guard.

"You've been a very bad kitty," Mikey scolded, knocking the gun away with his nunchaku.

Verminator-X drew a glowing, tech-modified katana from out of his robe. "This looks like Madame Tao's work," he noted at their equipment. "I'd heard she had retired from the business."

"She set us up with some new toys," Raph said, coming to Mikey's aid. "In exchange for bringing back your head."

"Then Tao has set herself up for a huge disappointment."

Leo struggled against the net for a moment on the ground, which only caused it to anchor against the broken ground beneath him more. Frustrated, he hit his wrist comm.

"Don, please tell me you've found Splinter," he spoke, a threat of desperation leaking into his voice. "We're not doing so good out here."

"I haven't gotten anything yet," said the image of Don appearing on his mask's screen, looking slightly harried. "But your ninjaken are equipped with vibro-shock tech. They should slice through most things. Plus, your new turtle vision masks can analyze the composition of substances automatically, so the swords can recalibrate their shock value."

"In English, Donnie!"

Leo jerked his head out of the way as Verminator-X let loose with a stream of fire from his cybernetic forefinger, which missed Raph and nearly burned his head off.

"Focus, analyze, and let the swords do the rest," Don translated. "I'll be there to back you up once I find Splinter."

Leo squinted in frustration at the net, and found the sensors in his new face mask responding automatically. Within nanoclicks, the structure of the net was brought up on-screen, and Leo's swords glowed in response. Bringing them up, the ninja turtle sliced clean through the web holding him down.

"Nice one, Don," he complimented, flipping forward to his feet.

Verminator-X, meanwhile, had retrieved his gun, and pushed a new switch. Three smaller barrels, forming a triangle around the main one, had extended out. Mikey gulped as Verminator-X grinning his sharp teeth at the turtle before firing.

"Mikey," Don's said, appearing on-screen in the lower right-hand side of Michelangelo's vision. "Use your nunchaku. Their designed to form a light shield when wielded together."

"How?" Mikey wondered, spinning both in front of him, one on top of the other. In answer, a shield formed made of golden light, and shaped like a tribal design of a turtle shell.

"Never mind!" Mikey replied, as Verminator-X's blasts bounced off. "I think I got it."

"Raph," Don instructed next, as Raph dove in, aiming for Verminator-X's throat. "Your gauntlets are fitted with flame knucklebombers. If you can get in close enough, your punches should pack quite a wallop."

"No problem," Raph replied,diving to the side with his head down as the cat swung his katana at him.

Flipping his laser sais back into their holsters, Raph brought his fists up and felt them charge. Fire exploded out of the metallic knuckles fitted to them.

"Ever heard 'a this one?" he jeered, bringing his fists down hard. "Cat on a hot bridge!"

Verminator-X let out a metallic-sounding hiss as he leaped straight into the air. The flames from Raph's knucklebombers licked at the cat's tail, singeing the hairs. Raph came up swinging, bringing the flames in closer while Verminator-X took aim. Leo, however, was back in the game, and brought his swords down while the analysis sensors in his visor compensated. A shockwave of energy flew forward, and caught the feline Nightrunner off his guard right in the chest.

Dazed, but not out yet, Verminator-X brought his gun up and unloaded on Leo. Seeing this, Mikey leaped in front of his older brother, bringing his shield back up.

"I've got you covered, bro," he said, as the blaster fire rained down. "Go for it."

"Raph," Leo called out. "With me."

"Go for it," Raph shouted over the roar of his own flames. He was keeping Verminator-X on the ropes by throwing fire at him each time the cat came back down.

Leo slid around, watching and waiting for an opening. Raphael had Verminator-X cornered against the bridge's edge, and rained down balls of fire at the humanoid cat now. Verminator-X hissed and spat back at him as the flames crept closer to him. Leonardo saw his chance, and raced forward through the fire, bringing his sword down to slice the Nightrunner's blaster clean in half.

The broken part fell to the ground and exploded. The blast knocked both turtles back, along with the cat. Michelangelo was protected by his shield, but still felt the force of it.

"Sorry," Leo mumbled, as he got up off Raphael. "I didn't know it would blow up like that."

"Live and learn," Mikey muttered, shaking his head. "You guys okay?"

"We'll live," Raph muttered. "Let's just finish this."

Verminator-X was already on his feet, examining his cybernetic hand, which Leo's blade had managed to damage as well.

"_Verminator-X_," a voice snarled angrily inside his head via the vid window in his cybernetic eye. "_Please, keep in mind that I still have what you want. You were hired to exterminate all four of those reptiles, plus the rat, so quit playing games and get to work_."

Overhead, the Hovershell began lowering itself over the bridge again. "Guys," Don said, appearing on his brothers' screens again. "I can't find Splinter anywhere. Verminator-X must have him stashed somewhere."

"Lousy cat," Raph growled. "At least we get to hurt this fleabag before we bring his head back to that Tao lady."

"Or not!" Leo pointed further down the bridge, where Verminator-X was racing away from them. "After him, Don."

"Hop on board, guys," Don replied, before popping the hatch. "There's no way he can outrun us in this thing."

Leonardo grabbed hold, then flipped himself backwards inside, along with Mikey and Raph. Don closed the hatch, then roared down the bridge after Verminator-X in the Hovershell. The cyborg cat heard them coming, and quickly dove off the side, landing in a crouch on the Little Orleans side of the border.

"Punch it, Don," Leo said, getting into the seat next to him. "He's our only link to finding Master Splinter."

Don opened his mouth, but got cut off from replying as a light beeped on the control console. Leo pushed the button, and a holocube containing Cody's head appeared.

"Guys!" Cody cried out. "What's happening?"

"It's a long story, Cody," Leo said abruptly. "We'll tell you later."

"I just finished my studies, and thought I'd check to see if you were on your way back yet," Cody said frantically, punching buttons on his own console as he spoke. "According to the tracker on the Hovershell, you're heading into Little Orleans."

"That's where we're going," Leo said, determined. "Someone has taken Master Splinter. We're going in to get him back."

"But you can't!" Cody cried out. "That's what I was trying to tell you. Little Orleans is Oroku Industries territory. That region of the city is patrolled by the Foot Police, and if anything belonging to O'Neil Shelltech crosses the border without security clearance, it's automatically seen as an act of trespassing."

Donnie's eyes widened as the Hovershell slowed to a stop. "If the Foot Police catch you," Cody went on, his tone deepening with worry. "Oroku Industries could demand restitution from O'Neil Shelltech."

"Right," Leo said, getting out of his seat. "We'll continue pursuit on foot. Cody, can you bring the Hovershell back by autopilot?"

"Sure," Cody said, punching in a few keys. "That's easy."

"Do it, then," Leo told him, as the others got up and headed for the opening hatch. "We'll contact you to send it to our coordinates once we've rescued sensei, and have left the area."

"I'm sorry about this," Cody said sincerely. "I wish I could do more, but the Hovershell was registered as an official licensed vehicle of O'Neil Shelltech. The Foot Police are sure to run a scan on it."

"It's fine, Cody," Leo said to the holocube, before leaping out of the craft.

The four turtles stood near the edge of the street near the border wall as the Hovershell rose back up through the air, and out of the district.

"Let's go," Leo said. "We've got a lot of ground to cover."

"What sort of weird place is this city?" Mikey wondered. "You can't even go into certain areas without permission?"

"Speaking of weird," Raph said, taking a look at their surroundings. "What kind of messed up part of town is this? Take a look around."

"I see," Donnie said. "It kind of looks like the French Quarter of New Orleans. From our time, I mean. I've seen pictures of it on the net, and these buildings look almost identical."

"Who'd go to so much trouble just to make one part of town look like another?" Raph asked, as they moved further into town.

"We'll have to find our answers later," Leo replied authoritatively. "Right now, let's keep to the shadows. Verminator-X definitely came to this section of Neo-Manhattan. We'll turn every piece of it upside down if we have to."

"Um, I'm not so sure about that, Leo," Donnie protested.

"Whoa," Mikey gasped, recoiling in pretend shock. "Don, did you just channel Raph or something? Complaining about Leo's plans is his job."

"What I mean is," Donnie tried. "We're dealing with a different set of circumstances than back home. Skulking around in the shadows may not get us anywhere. We have to think like this time period, and adapt to our surroundings."

"What do you mean?" Leo demanded, looking back toward Don impatiently.

"Well," Don said hesitantly. "Let's ask around. If Verminator-X has been through here, maybe someone has seen him. Or better still, see if anyone has seen Master Splinter lately."

Leo frowned hard, but considered Don's point for a moment. "We've got nothing else to go on right now," Raph pointed out. "At least, let's cover all the bases."

"Yeah," Mikey agreed. "We're not the strangest things in the city anymore, so why not take advantage of it?"

"Because running around out in the open is what started this whole mess," Leo replied sharply, giving them all harsh looks. "We spent our whole lives moving in the shadows, and the first time we step out of the boundaries sensei gave us, something horrible happens. Someone in this time period is out to get us."

The others looked at one another. Leo saw this, and let out a heavy sigh. "But," he finished. "We need to find out where Verminator-X went, and track down Master Splinter. Familiarizing ourselves with the area can't hurt at this point."

Turning around, Leo made a quick sweep of the region. "We'll meet back here in twenty," he said, hitting his wrist comm to shut off his battle mode. "Maintain contact with each other at all times."

"Time to take it to the streets," Raph said excitedly, doing the same.

"Just try not to cause too much trouble," Leo shot back in a tired voice as Don and Mikey ran ahead of him. "Twenty minutes, guys. Let's make this quick."

{} {} {} {} {}

Cody held his breath as the landing sequence in the docking bay was initiated. The Hovershell drifted in smoothly to the dock, then set down in it's designated spot. Serling was watching behind him the whole time, his robotic hand gripping the back of Cody's chair tight enough to leave crevices.

"I'm going down there to check for dings," Serling declared, heading for the door in a huff. "There's no telling the sort of damage those ruffians did to it."

"You do that," Cody said half-heartedly, keeping his eyes focused on the screen. "I was thinking about making some upgrades to the Hovershell while the guys were still out. The maintenance droids are being programed with their instructions as we speak, so there shouldn't be much for you to do once you've finished your inspection."

"Very well," Serling said, sticking his head through the still-open door. "Would you like for me to go ahead and start your lunch when I get back?"

"Sure," said Cody, not looking away from his holo-monitor. "In fact, I'm getting kind of hungry already. The droids in the docking bay can fix any damages. I'm sure the guys went easy on it."

Serling let out an artificial sigh. "Your faith in those hooligans astounds me, but if you'd prefer, I would be delighted to start your lunch for you, Master Cody."

"Thanks, Serling."

Cody waited until he was sure Serling wasn't coming back, then hit a holographic key to close the false set-up he'd prepared earlier. It had been a quick throw-together job, but Serling had never paid much attention to the inner workings of the Hovershell before, so the cloaking program had done it's job. The real schematics he'd been working on came to life on holo-screens in front of him. The instructions were nearly done loading into the maintenance droids' central processing bank. Once that was over and done with, it was just a matter of waiting until they were finished.

Unfortunately, waiting was not one of the O'Neil family's stronger suits, and to make matters worse, the turtles were running short on time.

"There's got to be something else I can do," Cody grieved, bumping his head on the desk in frustration. "But the guys are so far away, and it'll take the droids at least two hours to finish upgrading the Hovershell to my specifications."

_That_, Cody mused silently. _Plus, Serling would never let me out of the Kame Dojo._

Time was running short. He wished the turtles had contacted him when Splinter was first abducted. He reasoned that they were just used to handling things on their own, a prospect which helped to quiet the inner fear that they didn't want his help at all.

Cody's eyes landed on the journals that had belonged to his great-grandfather, Casey. Cody always kept a copy near him. Long before the turtles arrived, he'd taken comfort in their presence.

"What would Donatello do?" he asked himself, a question that had gotten him through several tough situations. "He'd come up with a plan, obviously, so think!"

They were in Oroku Industries territory. His authorization codes might be enough to send a squad of the O'Neil Shelltech's private police force there, but working out the details would take longer than the maintenance droids needed to install the weapons onto the Hovershell. Without the Hovershell, there was little chance of the Foot Police connecting the turtles to his company so quickly. So long as they maintained a low profile, the authorities stationed in Little Orleans should leave them alone. However, none of that helped Master Splinter one bit.

"Focusing," Cody heard himself mumble. "Stealthing."

It was a mantra he'd picked up from one of his great-grandfather's journal stories, though he couldn't recall which one at the moment.

"Okay," Cody said aloud, raising up. "I need to know what happened to Master Splinter, so let's check New Chinatown's Wired news postings. That's where the Hovershell was earlier, so if Master Splinter was taken from there, someone is bound to have left a trail for me to follow."

Cody's fingers flew expertly across the holo-keyboard, flipping through site after site of New Chinatown news postings. Several caught his eye, so he quickly marked them into a separate folder. Once he was done with his scan, Cody opened each marked news thread. Most had something to do with a scuffle that had broken out in the streets between some Nightrunners. The LoneStar Mages had been brought in to clean up the mess, according to what one local said.

Another poster had snapped a HI file of one of the assailants. Cody brought it up, then enlarged the image to maximum.

"Nightrunner, huh?" he mused, opening a new screen up. "Let's seen if the Wired Image Search can find a match with this guy."

Cody punched in every tag word he could think of relating to the cyborg cat alien hovering on screen in front of him. After pushing the appropriate key, he sat back and watched as his machine cycled through the files that came up matching his request. It took about two minutes, but when the matching file was opened, he knew he'd found his guy.

"Verminator-X," Cody read aloud from the Nightrunner Guild site. "Kind of a dumb name. Says here that he's a hunter, and exterminator. But who would want to send him after the turtles and Master Splinter?"

Checking Verminator-X's profile, he saw a post made by the Nightrunner himself. They were coordinates for a showdown with the turtles.

"This explains what they were doing out so close to Little Orleans," said Cody. "That old bridge has been closed down for years."

Cody sighed and leaned back in his chair, staring at Verminator-X's face. "If I send the O'Neil Shelltech's police force, Oroku Industries will see it as a breach of contract," he spoke to himself. "The treaty between the three companies is what's held Neo-Manhattan together. But I can't just sit here and let the turtles handle this by themselves. It's my fault they're here in the first place."

Deciding to check on how the Hovershell maintenance and upgrades were going while he thought around in circles, Cody thought he saw someone moving in the shadows just outside the security camera's view. Playing the video back, he zoomed in on the recording's uppermost corner. A flash of something purple appear for an instant before moving away.

"Nah," Cody decided, shaking his head. "It couldn't be. He left hours ago."

Being stumped was making his mind paranoid. "The Nightrunner has Master Splinter," he said, lining his thoughts up in a row. "Or has hidden Splinter somewhere, probably in Little Orleans. The turtles have to find Verminator-X, which means I've got to help them find Verminator-X."

Cody frowned. "Nightrunners get paid to do their jobs," he said, traveling along his train of thought to see where it went. "So someone paid the Nightrunner to kidnap Master Splinter, and take the turtles out. So who would want the turtles dead in this time?"

Cody checked his screen again. "Ah, I'm going at this all wrong!" he grumbled, mussing his hair up. Serling was sure to have a fit about it once he saw.

"What I need is to get the turtles some help," he decided. "They need to find Verminator-X, and they're deep inside Oroku Industries territory right now, so who can I contact that would take the job?"

Several ideas went through Cody's mind, none of which he felt were adequate. "Another Nightrunner would be ideal," he admitted. "But if the guild profile is any indication, this Verminator-X guy is no slouch. It would take a lot of money to hire someone willing to go up against him, and if there's any more big activity on my accounts, Serling and Uncle Darius will have them frozen."

Something clicked in Cody's head. "Of course!" he said, laughing. "It's so simple. Why didn't I think of it before?"

Going back to his seat, he began punching keys furiously. "It's like they always used to say," he said to himself. "If there's trouble, just call the police!"

{} {} {} {} {}

"Excuse me?"

The street performer remained silent, but turned slightly at the sound of Michelangelo's voice, the spoon in his hands still warping and twisting.

"This might sound strange," Mikey began, catching a few of the dirty looks from the small crowd the performer had been entertaining. "But by any chance, have you seen a very large cat walking on two legs?"

The man with blue face paint, the turtle was assuming, pointed with his bending spoon off to Mikey's right. Michelangelo turned, and saw an over-muscled feline humanoid leaning against a street lamp from the nineteen-twenties, looking ready to break someone in half.

"No," Mikey told the performer. "This one was smaller, and had machine parts."

The performer pointed again with his spoon further down the square. "No," Mikey said again upon seeing the vendor peddling out what was probably stolen mechanical hardware. "I meant on his body. He had a robotic arm, and a metal plate on his face."

The performer shook his head silently, before going back to his crowd. "Thanks anyway," Mikey told him. "And by the way, that's a really nifty trick!"

The performer smiled and turned toward Mikey now, moving the spoon through the air as though it were made of water. Mikey laughed, and started to say something, but felt someone in a cloak brush past him.

Turning, Mikey saw a flash of something metal, and a whiskered face grinning underneath a hood before the stranger broke into a run.

"Wait, that's him!" Mikey cried out, breaking into a run. "Come back here!"

Both the spectators and the street performer stared in bemusement as Michelangelo ran down through the square after the cloaked figure. Mikey didn't turn back to see the performer shrug and go back to his act. Pressing the button on his wrist comm, he felt his Nightrunner armor fold over his body as the comm link with his brothers was established.

"Guys," he said breathlessly, still giving chase. "I think I've found him. We're on..."

Mikey looked around wildly for some sort of street sign, and spotted a holo-panel floating above a corner.

"...New St. Ann's Street," he read aloud. "Heading east."

"We're on our way," Leo said, the image of him appearing in a small window in the corner of Mikey's vision. "Keep your distance, but don't lose him. This is probably some kind of trap."

Verminator-X's hood fell off as a gust of wind blew through, showing his face. The alien cyborg gave no concern toward this, and kept running, leading Michelangelo down a narrow alley that emptied out into New Burbon Street.

"We're heading north now," he told his brothers.

"He's headed right toward me," Raph replied. "I'll cut him off."

"Can you hurry?" Mikey gasped. "Man, I shouldn't have accepted that free sample of spicy chilli shrimp."

"Guys, something's wrong," Leo said sharply. "I just spotted Verminator-X headed east of me into a side-street."

"Leo, you're losin' it," Raph yelled back. "I've got him right in my sights."

"So do I," Don told them. "He just leaped over my head through the gap in the rooftops."

"And he's still in front of me," Mikey finished.

Michelangelo saw Raph close in on Verminator-X. The cat cyborg kept running, as though he weren't even aware of Raphael's presence. The moment the hot-headed turtle's hands began to close around him, however, the Nightrunner flickered and vanished.

"Disappearing trick," Mikey gasped, stopping short of running into his brother.

Raphael growled as he raised up. "I get the feeling we've just been suckered."

"Time to regroup," Leo said via their comm link. "I'm canceling my pursuit and rendezvousing with the two of you at your position. Be there in five."

"I can make it in under two," Don called to them. "Raph, you and Mikey should be just around the corner from me."

"Stay sharp," Leo told them, turning back the way he just came. "This is some kind of stalling tactic. Verminator-X obviously wants us to keep running around in circles."

Leonardo re-joined his brothers a moment later. "'Bout time ya got here," Raph said. "Don says he's got a theory as to how we can catch that frisky alien cat man."

"I've been thinking about the technology Verminator-X is using to create those holographic clones," Don explained, bringing up a window on his wrist comm. "Even factoring in the one-hundred year gap, something like that would have to be broadcast from a nearby area."

"Can you track the signal?" Leo asked anxiously.

"No," Don admitted. "But I may not need to. All of those clones would have been leading us away from wherever Verminator-X is hiding, so by using basic triangulation, I should be able to pinpoint his position after imputing the trajectory of where each clone was headed."

"What's it say? What's it say?" Mikey demanded, looking at the screen over Don's shoulder. "Please tell me it's somewhere nearby that has a bathroom."

"Go it," Don declared, as his wrist comm gave a loud beep. "Just a few blocks from here. The signal is probably being broadcast from the rooftop."

"We're there," Raph said, as the location came up on his view screen.

The turtles didn't waste a click. All four made tracks down the French Quarter-style street, taking to the air on the back of a low-flying hover vehicle. Because the buildings in this area weren't much taller than three-to-four stories, it only took a few more well-timed leaps to reach their target. From there, it was a short dash across the rooftops.

Down from their position and to the left was a building marked as Innsmouth Hotel. Just as Donatello predicted, Verminator-X was lurking behind some ventilation units on top of it, crouched in front of a cylindrical machine whose top glowed a slightly off-color blue hue.

"Now?" Mikey asked.

"Right now," Leo replied. "Attack!"

Verminator-X reared back in surprise as the turtles leaped down from the higher perch for him, weapons armed and at the ready.

"I'm going to enjoy stepping on this cat's tail," Raph said, swinging his sais sideways.

"Where is Master Splinter?" Leonardo demanded, as Verminator-X dodged both of their attacks. "Tell us where you've hidden him."

"You're all too late," the cat cyborg replied, hitting a button on his belt. "The Cult of Kanabo will have sacrificed him by now."

"No one's going to sacrifice our sensei," Raph insisted, going into a rage as his sais cut through the hard roof. "Not on my watch."

"Or mine," Don agreed.

"Or mine," Mikey added, as he and his tech-geek brother joined Raphael's side. "You're going to have to deal with all four of us, and this time, there's nowhere to run."

"On the contrary," Verminator-X replied calmly, smiling now. "I have no need to run. After all, what's a party without guests?"

Verminator-X pressed another button on his belt, which made the device near him hum loudly. The turtles looked around them as clone after holographic clone materialized, surrounding them.

"There's no way you'll find the real me before I escape," one jeered.

Raph snarled, and flung one of his sais through the air, striking the generator near the glowing top, and sending sparks flying.

"Nice one," Don complimented. "Crude, but straightforward. Now press the red return button on your wrist comm."

Raph complied, and the sai promptly flew through the air back to his hand. "Nice," said Raph, grinning. "This will come in handy."

Leo landed in front of the real Verminator-X as the clones of him dissipated. "Now," he said menacingly. "Tell us where you hid Master Splinter. I'm not going to ask a second time."

Nearby, the holographic generator let out a high-pitched whine as smoke curled out from within it. Verminator-X instinctively shielded his face as the device exploded. The others scattered as debris from the roof went flying Leonardo flinched, covering his own face with his swords, and missed seeing the cyborg dive down the hole in the roof left by his device.

"Quick!" Don shouted, already running through the cloud of smoke. "He's gone down below."

The turtles each dove down the hole into the hotel below them. "Nice place," Mikey commented at the old-fashioned style wallpaper and rug floors. "Excellent decor."

"Not now, Mikey!" Leo barked, racing ahead. "After him!"

Hotel guests, some of them aliens, stuck their heads out into the hall from their room doors at the commotion. Verminator-X opened fire as he ran, heading for a set of 20th Century stairs as the turtles gave chase.

"Keep moving," Leo instructed, using his swords to give his brothers some cover fire. "We have to catch up."

"Let me," Don said, flipping over Leonardo's head to take point. "I've got just the thing."

Don pressed a button on his wrist comm, summoning a purple light shield shaped like a tortoise shell.

"Nice," Raph said, as Don cleared a path for them.

"Stay on him, Donnie."

Leo dove forward as Verminator-X fired a rocket at them before ducking down the stairs. His sword sliced neatly through it, both halves bursting into flames as they struck the floor behind he and his brothers. Several of the observing guests took cover behind their room doors in response.

Verminator-X took the stairs two at a time at high speed. The turtles kept up by leaping straight down the banisters via a series of flips. This way, they'd caught up with the cat before he reached the ground floor lobby.

"Stay back!" Verminator-X ordered, firing on them. "I'm warning you."

"Warn this," Raph cried out, catching the cat across the face with a well-placed kick just as the cyborg fired another rocket. The gun flew from Verminator-X's hand just as the rocket fired, hitting the floor behind them. Both Raph and the cyborg tumbled out of sight through the opening in the ground as several members of staff looked on, horrified.

"Again?" Mikey marveled. "This guy loves a quick exit."

Neither Don nor Leo made comment, racing past their brother to dive in after the two. Coming in last, Mikey landed on his feet against a cold, hard floor in the darkness of the basement.

"Spookular," the youngest turtle noted.

"Where are we?" Leonardo wondered, looking around at the archaic stone wall.

The chamber was dark, made completely from stone, and lit only by a few old-fashioned torches. Strange symbols had been set into several of the stones, on all four walls, the ceiling, and the floors. Something about them made Leo cringe inside of his shell.

"Um, guys?" Don said, looking ahead of them. "I think we may have landed in a world of trouble."

Turning around, Leo saw what Donnie meant. Raph and the Nightrunner they'd been chasing had rolled to a stop before a raised stone platform. Several figures, each wearing oddly-colored uniforms, were standing around all four corners. Someone had gone to the trouble of engraving a circle into the platform using the same symbols on the walls.

And in the center of the circle was a stone table, atop which lay Master Splinter, bound and chained.

"Father!"

"_Izz'kizztu_!" the insectoid alien standing over the table buzzed. "_P'tzztdrik f'bbta a'tue y'werr u'ffvca c'avvtti_!"

Mikey stared blandly. "Um, what did he just say?"

"He's not wearing a translator," Don replied, somewhat sardonically.

"I don't think we need one," Leo countered, as the other aliens moved to attack. "It's not going to be difficult to figure out these guys mean business."

Raph stood up, giving his laser sais a twirl as he planted a solid kick to the back of Verminator-X's head. "Bring it on," he declared. "After running around all over the place looking for this bozo, I could use a little stress relief."

The aliens on the platform charged. "Don, get Master Splinter out of there," Leo ordered, bringing his swords up. "Mikey, you and Raph are with me."

"On it," Don called out, diving to the side as the group of aliens reached them.

Don took the direct route, leaping on top of the nearest alien cult member's shoulders, then hopping across from one to the next toward the platform. The moment he reached it, his bo staff fired a concussion blast that struck the insectoid in the chest.

"Makes me wish I'd had Madame Tao install some bug spray in this thing," Donnie moaned. "But, oh well!"

The insectoid leader tried to block Don's next attack, but the turtle caught him off-guard with a spin kick to the head. The insectoid crashed to the floor in a roll as Don landed, reaching for the gag in his sensei's mouth. The table his father was chained to had been splattered with multi-colored fluid. Something told Don he didn't want to think too much about where it had come from.

"My son," Splinter gasped.

"I'll have you free in a minute, sensei," Don assured him, depressing a button on the gauntlet opposite his wrist comm, which summoned forth a multi-tool.

"Let's see," Don said, over the noise of battle behind him. "A laser would be nice."

Behind them, the others had their hands full keeping the cultists back. Raph took on a diminutive creature he remembered seeing on D'hoonnib, while Leo beat back a red-skinned creature with multiple arms. Mikey came to his rescue, helping his brother seize the appendages on each side. Together, the two brothers flipped the creature through the air, sending the alien toppling into two more.

"You cannot stop the summoning," the short creature dodging Raph's attacks insisted loudly. "The Herald of Destruction approaches!"

"Wanna bet?" Raph spun around in a wide arc and send the little shrimp flying. "That's what I thought."

"I've got Master Splinter," Don called out, helping his sensei up off the table.

"Good," Leo replied, kicking another cult member back. "Then somebody get Verminator-X. We're getting out of here now."

"No!" A different alien wearing what might have been jewelry stood up. "The sacrifice is a brother from the stars. His blood is needed to summon the Herald of the Elders."

Raph caught the alien in the back with his sais, bringing it down screaming. "Shut up!" he screamed. "Ain't no one taking our sensei from us."

Leo turned toward the hole they'd come in through, just in time to spot several dark figures standing around it with weapons draw. Before he could warn anyone, laser fire rained down on them.

"Now what?" Raph roared, backing away.

The figures leaped down through the entrance one after another. Leo stared as the group formed a perimeter guarding their only visible way out. The uniforms had changed slightly, but they was unmistakable. Even if Leo hadn't fought them before upon his arrival in this time period, the emblem fixed to the left side of their chests left absolutely no room for doubt.

It was the Foot.

Even now, seeing the Foot as the law enforcement made Leonardo feel vaguely sick.

"So what do we do now?" Raph asked, as the Foot began slowly closing in on them. "Something tells me these bastards aren't going to believe we're the good guys."

"Throw down your weapons and surrender," the female leader commanded. "You are all under arrest for destruction of private property, disturbing the peace, reckless endangerment, and suspicion of being illegal offworlders."

"My sons," Splinter said, leaning on to Michelangelo for support. "We must disappear."

"Where?" Mikey wondered. "There's no cover, and I don't see another exit."

"Here," Don said, letting something drop to the floor. "Take cover, guys, and hold your breath."

A small metal ball clattered across the floor a total of four steps before rupturing. A thick cloud of smoke rose up from it, filling the room in seconds. The turtles didn't waste a beat, moving silently through the manufactured cover for the exit. The Foot Police were already moving, sweeping the room in desperation, but the turtles were two steps ahead of them.

"Out of the way," Raph yelled, pushing through the crowd that had formed for the door. "One side, people. Move it!"

"Let's hope these people have short-term memories," Mikey moaned, keeping everyone back with his spinning nunchaku. "I don't want to wind up on Neo-Manhattan's Most Wanted Reptiles."

"We can worried about that later," Leo said as they reached the doors. "For right now, let's get out of here and take Master Splinter home. Cody can summon the Hovershell once we reach the Little Orleans border."

"And for once," Mikey quipped, getting in one last line. "We'll be home in time for dinner."

{} {} {} {} {}

The crowd continued to persist as the Foot Police emerged through the front doors. Darius Dun was waiting for them, holding his cane in front like some odd status symbol, watching everything take place through a pair of cold, shrewd eyes.

"The terrapins escaped," the Foot police commander said, her face obscured from view by the full mask she wore. "But it seems they left the cyborg behind. We're taking him into custody right now."

"Actually," Darius said, shifting slightly. "I'd prefer it if you would turn the cyborg over to O'Neil Shelltech."

"Unacceptable," the Foot policewoman said at once, sharply. "I could be court marshaled for even speaking to you out here."

"You won't go uncompensated," Darius explained in an oily voice as he held up his PID pad to the Foot Police officer's three-pronged badge.

A light flashed between the two devices. "You are now in possession of several elite shares of O'Neil Shelltech stock," Darius told her. "As well as a nice little bonus for you and your platoon. All I require in return is for you to turn the Nightrunner over to me."

The Foot officer hesitated briefly, before nodding. "O'Neil Shelltech has taken a personal interest in the capture of these unknown terrapins," Darius went on. "There will be no need to report them to your superiors. A plan has already been set in motion."

"Very well," the Foot officer said, nodding. "I'll leave the cyborg to you, then."

"Thank you so much," Darius replied, grinning coldly.

Darius Dun waited until the Foot officers had left Verminator-X in the shuttle vehicle he'd summoned, one that carried no identifiable markings of O'Neil Shelltech. Once the coast was clear, he turned to the cyborg, who was sitting inside the opened hatch, looking dazed.

"You failed me," Darius stated, his voice bitter.

Verminator-X said nothing. "I asked you to do one thing, and you couldn't even dispose of a couple of reptiles operating as con artists," Dun snarled, seizing the cyborg by the throat. "This is the end of your much-vaunted reputation as a hunter. From this day forward, you are under contract with me, until those unclassified freaks are annihilated."

Verminator-X hissed at Dun, but made no move to attack. "Wise," Dun complimented, releasing him. "You know as well as I do that I still possess the one thing you want most of all. Until our business is complete, you won't see so much as a whisker of her."

Dun stepped back as the hatch started to close. "Don't feel too bad, though," he sneered. "Working for me isn't without its benefits, after all."

Darius laughed as the hover vehicle roared off out of the Little Orleans district, then turned to his private ride. Behind him, the crowd of onlookers had already begun to dissipate. Gradually, the scene returned to normal as the sun set off in the distance.

Long after the moon had risen, a light flashed in the sky above the Innsmouth Hotel. Any stragglers passing by barely gave it a notice; it was going too fast for most eyes to see. The light pierced the roof of the hotel building, passing through it harmlessly. Through each floor, it zipped past, coming to a stop when it reached the basement.

The hidden chamber had been concealed from the guests' view. The torches were extinguished. The light gave no notice of this, zeroing in on the table covered in alien blood. As it hovered, the light began to flicker. Wind from nowhere whipped through, causing the stone walls to shake. The light grew in strength, until it was blinding. Only then did it take a shape.

A swirling darkness began to form inside of it, growing until it had snuffed out nearly all of the very light that had spawned it. The darkness swirled amid it's own murky depths as something moved inside of it. Dark tendrils wavered out of the portal that had formed, feeling the air on the other side for a moment. A figure holding a staff in one of the elastic tentacles emerged, eyes glowing red.

"At last," a voice from it breathed out. "I have come."

The creature's purple skin looked positively black in the darkness. "The Herald of the Elders has come," it said to no one. "And the Day of Awakening is at hand."


	4. Episode 4 Mystech and Misdemeanors

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Re: Fast Forward

Episode 4

Mystech & Misdemeanors

by That Long-Haired Creepy Guy

_They call me Raphael. Or Raph... hothead... psycho. Heh, I got a lot of names, and those are the nice ones. Me and my bros know a lot about surviving. We've had to do it for as long as we can remember. Splinter taught us a lot, but when you get right down to it, survival is about being tougher than the last, and meaner than the next one._

_ Because of an accident, the five of us were tossed through some freaky Time Window invented by Casey and April's great-grandson. The kid's alright, honestly, if a little too much like his great-grandparents at times. He seems sure enough that he can get us back home with a little bit of time, and a lot of help from Don. Me, I'm more worried about what we're gonna do while we're stuck a hundred years from home._

_ See, somebody paid this shlep to take us out, and it almost got Master Splinter killed. We managed to get him back, but because the douche got away, we're being sent on another wild goose chase for some suits who claim a bunch of sensitive data got jacked out of their big-ass mainframe. It seems like a simple enough plan, except that nothing is ever that simple._

_ Survival of the fittest, as they say. I just hope being out of the game for a century hasn't given our competition a leg-up on us._

{} {} {} {} {}

"I'm so sorry, guys," Cody apologized, looking frantic. "I didn't think about the Foot Police trying to arrest you. That was such a stupid mistake. I couldn't come up with anything else while the Hovershell was being customized, but I figured that the Foot Police might help out if they knew that Verminator-X was in their territory."

"It's fine, Cody," Leo assured him, taking his seat at the table. "You didn't know what happened at the hotel."

"Yeah," Mikey added. "And we made it out okay, with Master Splinter to boot."

"Your actions were rash, but you meant well," Splinter assured him gently. "All the confusion caused by the Foot's timely arrival made our escape easier in the end."

The six of them were sitting at the breakfast table beside the glass panel window that made up the fourth walls of the kitchen. Cody had been apologizing ever since he learned what had happened in Little Orleans.

"Don't worry about it," Donatello said, as Cody began to cheer up. "After breakfast, why don't we have another look at the Time Window."

"After breakfast," Serling broke in, sounding irritable as he clanked around in the kitchen. "Master Cody will be brushing up on his Advanced Calculus. There will be time for you two to blow up the laboratory later."

"That was just a small fire we started," Cody retorted at Serling, making Raph chuckle. "One of the coils for the Time Window's chonometric oscillator had gone bad, probably during the accident."

Cody turned toward Don as Serling narrowed his robotic eye stalks. "I can order another one through O'Neil Shelltech," the young boy said. "But it might take a while."

"If it will hurry things along," Serling said, as he discreetly poured something from a vial hidden in his arm into a bowl of tomato sauce. "I will speak with your Uncle Darius later. Perhaps, with a bit of coaxing, he can manage something. It is all in the name of getting the five of you back to your own time and away from young Cody, after all."

"We're touched, Buckethead," Raph muttered.

Serling ignored the turtle, and continued busying himself about the kitchen. "For the rat," he said disdainfully, setting a Japanese serving tray down before Splinter. "Quail eggs with seaweed, rice, and tofu."

Serling retrieved a pan from the counter and set it down in the center of the table. "For the four miscreants," the robot declared. "A four-cheese and sausage pizza, extra tomato sauce."

"Alright!" Mikey cried out.

"Yeah, let's eat," Cody agreed enthusiastically.

"You will be having none of that," Serling said, grabbing Cody's arm before it could grab the slice nearest to him. "I've already prepared your breakfast: baked white egg yolk with fat-free cottage cheese, sliced grapefruit, and a glass of one-and-a-half percent milk."

The plate landed on the table in front of Cody with a firm smack. "Enjoy, young Master," Serling said, walking away with his head held high. "When you're done, report to the study for your lessons. I've already taken the liberty of uploading your assignments for the day."

Raph watched as Serling went to work cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. Once the robot was sufficiently distracted, he scooped a slice up and tossed it onto Cody's plate atop the eggs.

"Knock yourself out," he said encouragingly.

Cody snickered, before quickly cutting a glance toward Master Splinter, who gave a barely noticeable nod to the boy, before daftly returning his focus to the meal of quail eggs before him. Cody snatched the pizza slice up in his hands and wolfed it down, keeping one eye on Serling in the kitchen the whole time. The other turtles had already dove in, and were feeding their faces enthusiastically.

"Try to remember to breath," Serling said critically, as Cody quickly concealed his pizza slice underneath the baked cottage cheese and white yolk. "And chew, for that matter."

"You are fighting a lost cause, I am afraid, Serling-san," Splinter informed, carefully sampling one of the quail eggs. "These are delicious, incidentally."

"Least the Buckethead can cook," Raph said around a mouthful of cheese.

"I'm finished," Cody announced, pushing his tray away. "I guess I'll see you guys when I'm done with my studies. Don, do you want to work on the Time Window later?"

"Definitely," Don said, before directing his attention back to Mikey and Raph, who were facing one another down over the last slice.

"You're going down, Raphie boy," Mikey jeered, his three fingers flexing in anticipation.

"In ya dreams," Raph countered. "On three?"

"Three!" Mikey cried out, leaping forward on top of the table.

Mikey belly-flopped onto an empty pan, as Splinter's razor-sharp reflexes snatched the slice up into his claws. A smile dotted the rat's face before he began nibbling.

"Not bad," Splinter mused, taking another bite. "It would appear that the standards of pizza have risen in the last century. I believe I could grow to like this."

"Before I forget," Serling told them, eager to get them out of his way. "There was a flag on the vid screen for you four. You can take it in the leisure room, where you're less likely to get in the way."

"Flag?" Leo wondered.

"I'll show you," Cody said, who had stayed behind to watch the duel.

"Master Cody," Serling admonished, as Cody stood up. "Your lessons!"

"It won't take two clicks," Cody replied, ignoring him and motioning for the others to follow. "This way, guys."

Cody led them down the hall away from a deeply disapproving robot into the leisure room, containing the biggest screen the turtles had ever laid eyes on. "Watch this," Cody explained, turning the giant holo-monitor on. "See, whenever someone places a vid call, and nobody answers, they have the option of leaving behind a flag."

A tiny flag icon was flashing in the upper-left corner of the screen. "The flag means that you have a missed call," Cody went on. "If you select the icon, the computer automatically redials the number for you. People today have flag wars with one another, where they try to catch someone as they're on their way out the door for work, or in the middle of something. Whoever has the least number of flags on their list wins."

"That's actually kind of cool," Don commented, eager to see more.

"That's great, Cody," Leo said. "But who would be calling us here?"

"Let's find out," said Cody, clicking on the flag.

The sound file of an old-fashioned electronic phone ringing filled the room. The turtles watched as a screen popped up a moment later, showing Madame Tao's face.

"You four!" she snarled angrily. "I thought we had an agreement."

Master Splinter frowned. "I see you managed to retrieve your rat father," Tao added, giving Splinter a look as she focused on him. "But what is this I hear about Verminator-X. Word is, he's still alive, and being held prisoner in a containment facility for his own failure."

"Master Splinter," a reluctant Leonardo said, gesturing to the cantankerous old woman on the screen. "This is Madame Tao. She helped us rescue you from that cult."

"What cult?" Madame Tao frowned. "Nobody told me anything about a cult."

"It's a long story," Donnie told her. "We chased Verminator-X to a hotel where this weird sort of cult was conducting a ceremony in the basement. Verminator-X escaped when the Foot Police showed up."

Madame Tao scoffed. "I'd love to get my hands on the idiot who made the call to that bunch," she said, causing Cody to look away in embarrassment. "Whenever that lot gets involved in something, things are bound to go to Yomi in a hand basket."

"I am grateful for your assistance," Splinter told her, bowing his head.

"Save it," she replied, unimpressed. "Your sons promised me Verminator-X's head in exchange for the use of my hardware. We still have a debt to settle."

Splinter gave Leonardo a look. "It's true," Leo admitted, lowering his head. "At the time, we weren't sure what else to do."

Michelangelo was giving Cody's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Isn't there something else we could do instead?" he wondered.

"Huh!" Tao exclaimed, looking unnervingly pleased. "The dumb one has a great idea. In fact, since you brought it up, I'm willing to overlook the whole Verminator business entirely if you four are willing to take another job."

"Um, I think we've had all the excitement we can stand for a while," Don protested.

"Not me," Raph countered, grinning. "I could get use to this life."

"After you left," Madame Tao explained, bringing up several photos for the turtles to see. "The LoneStar Mages tried to hassle me for hazard pay. I finally had a word with their sponsors, Stock-Chaplin Mystech. They're willing to cut me some slack, but in return, I have to sub-contract some Nightrunners for a job they want done."

Leonardo cut a look toward Splinter before replying. "What's the nature of this job, exactly?" he asked, his voice thick with suspicion.

"They were shy on the details," Tao admitted, showing the image of a distorted red face. "Apparently, some type of computer virus they've never seen before got past the security systems and stole some sensitive information from the main data vault."

"And they want it back?" Don guessed.

"It," Tao clarified. "And the virus. The security teams have never seen anything like it before. They want to study it."

"A virus like that could be dangerous in the wrong hands," Cody said worriedly. "Especially if it wound up in the control of one of O'Neil Shelltech's competitors."

Madame Tao focused on Cody for a moment. "I'll be," she said softly. "You really are staying with the O'Neil-Jones heir."

"You knew that already," Don pointed out. "Or else you wouldn't have called us here."

Tao snorted. "Seeing is believing in this day and age. Besides, it could have easily been a dummy account."

"We will consider your offer," Splinter told her, cutting the conversation short. "Please, allow us a moment to convene before we give you an answer."

Cody blacked out the screen at once. "Dark Window," he explained. "Top of the line stuff, too. There's no chance of her eavesdropping on us."

"Thanks," Leo said, before turning to his brothers. "What do you guys think?"

"Seems simple enough," Raph said. "Plus, if we take this job, it might get us some cash."

"You guys don't have to worry about money," Cody broke in. "I've got plenty, and it's my responsibility to provide for you all while you're here."

"Thank you," Leo said.

"That's really nice," Don agreed. "But we're sort of used to taking care of ourselves."

"Plus," Raph added. "That data pad of yours conked out on Don and Mikey while they were paying for food. Somebody reported it as stolen."

"What?"

Leo turned back to Cody's surprised face. "I guess we must have forgotten to mention that after all the excitement of yesterday," he explained to the shocked O'Neil-Jones heir.

"A fool and his money are easily parted," Splinter reminded them. "However, we have a greater problem. The four of you have gotten yourselves indebted to this Tao woman."

None of them really knew what to say. "What do we do, Master Splinter?" Leo asked. "Should we take her offer?"

"It is your debt, and therefore, your decision to make," Splinter replied. "Still, I would not be here right now if Madame Tao had not agreed to assist you, so perhaps it would be best to see if we cannot come to some sort of agreement."

Don nodded to Cody, who cleared the Dark Window, showing Madame Tao's face again. "Well?" she asked impatiently.

"We'll do it," Leo said. "On the condition that no one has to be killed."

"This won't be an assassin job," Tao replied, waving a hand. "You four aren't getting offered nearly enough for something like that."

"Okay, then," Leo agreed, nodding. "We'll take the job."

"Excellent." Tao pushed something off-screen, and a box appeared on their window in the lower corner. "I've just mailed you the information you need. The data package has the time and meeting place, plus the details. Your Johnson will be waiting for you at the Grindhouse Theater Cafe."

Tao canceled the call abruptly. "Cody," Leo said, looking toward the young boy. "Can we borrow the Hovershell?"

"Sure," Cody replied, getting up. "I outfitted it with new weapons. If you'd like, we can take a quick test run so you can see how some of them work."

"Master Cody," Serling announced, sticking his head into the room. "You have wasted more than enough time with these misanthropes. Get to your study at once."

"Don can handle it," Raph assured him, as they filed out. "And don't worry about us handing over any viruses to your company's competition. If they ask, we'll just tell 'em the virus ran into a little cyberspace accident."

"Thanks guys," Cody said gratefully as the four turtles left the room.

"Before you go," Splinter said, catching Cody by the arm. "I was wondering if you would mind showing me something, Cody-san."

"Make it quick," Serling said warningly, still watching from out in the hall.

"I learned last night that my favorite program has survived all these years," Splinter went on, pointing to the screen now. "Could you help me find it?"

"No problem," Cody replied, and within moments, Splinter was sitting down on the couch watching 'As the Universe Turns'.

"Amazing," Splinter noted, as Cody left the room to study. "Stephanie's great-granddaughter is facing the exact same dilemma her ancestor struggled with all those years ago."

{} {} {} {} {}

The Grindhouse Theater Cafe was located a ways down from New Times Square at ground-level. Finding a place to park the Hovershell was murder. Don finally muscled his way into a light platform space big enough to hold them as a large delivery truck was pulling out, earning them the ire, and, what they assumed was, a rude gesture from an offworlder.

"The same to you, pal!" Raph shouted, giving the delivery truck driver his middle finger. "Damn, this had better be worth it."

"I'll say," Don replied irritably. "The cost for parking the Hovershell alone should have bankrupted O'Neil Shelltech. I don't see how people can live like this."

Leo sighed, keeping an eye on Raphael as he went on ahead of them. "I'm just glad the Hovershell had a Wired link so that Cody could transfer us the credits we needed."

"He's a good kid, Leo," Don insisted. "Sooner or later, we'll get the Time Window fixed, and be back home in the sewers where we bel..."

Don trailed off as he saw Raph staring at something on the wall of the place they were headed toward. "I don't believe it," he exclaimed happily as they came up next to their brother. "Look, Mikey!"

"Whoa, neat," Mikey agreed, pointing to the classic movie posters hanging behind protective glass. "That the 'Thing That Devoured San Diego for Dessert'. And that one is the late-nite classic 'I Was a Teenage Venusian'."

"What kinda crazy freakshow is this place?" Raph wondered, scratching the top of his head as they entered the building through a set of twentieth century doors.

"It's a retro-style coffee house," Don explained, as the others looked around curiously. "This place is a tribute to classic shlock films."

"I love it!" Mikey practically swooned. "And look, they have midnight showings of 'Dial 9 for Planetary Explosions'. Can we come back later?"

"Not now, Mikey," Leo scolded, noticing a figure sitting off in a corner by himself. "I think I've just spotted our mark."

The dark-skinned woman was sitting at the corner of a couch wearing a pair of virtual shades. Every spot in the area surrounding her was vacant despite the place being fairly busy. As the turtles approached tentatively, the woman jerked slightly, shoving the glasses up into her corn rows.

"You made it," she stated in a thick accent, gesturing for them to sit. "I was beginning to wonder."

"We had trouble parking," Don explained, looking bashful as he and the others took their seats across from her.

The lady rolled her eyes contemptuously. "The city has a monopoly on parking these days," she grumbled, lowering her shades again for a moment. "Anything ground-level is a nightmare."

"We're here..." Leo began, but the mystery woman quickly shut him down.

"I know why you're here," she interjected, as though scolding a child. "Be very careful what you speak of in this place. There are eyes and ears everywhere."

Leo nodded severely while both Don and Mikey looked around to confirm the coast was clear. No one appeared interested in them, yet they could sense several pairs of eyes watching them.

"Are we here to do business or what?" Raph demanded.

"Certainly," she said, pressing a button on her wrist comm. "I am transferring all the data to you as we speak. It is triple-encrypted so no splicer can break it before you leave. All of your instructions are inside, as well as the advance fee."

"Don," Leo said, turning slightly.

"I'm on it," Donatello assured him, before bringing up the holo-screen on his own wrist comm. "Even here, there's no code I can't decipher."

"Impressive," the woman purred coyly now, watching as Don went to work. "I just love an offworlder with big... brains."

Leo blanched, while Mikey looked toward Raph. "I guess in the future, brains must count for a lot, huh?"

"Don't count on gettin' lucky here anytime soon, then," Raph shot at him, giving Mikey a smack.

"I look forward to learning of your mission's success," said the woman, dismissing them with her tone. "Madame Tao spoke very highly of you."

"We'll try not to let you down," Leo said, getting up from his seat. "Come on, guys. Let's go while there's still daylight."

Leo heard the woman speak softly under her breath as they headed for the door. "Strange how more and more Nightrunners are doing their best work before dark, as opposed to after."

The tension in the room seemed to follow the turtles as they made their way out. Leo couldn't shake the suspicion that they were being watched the whole time.

"This is startin' to stink more and more by the second," Raph growled once they were well outside the Grindhouse Theater Cafe. "I'm beginning to think we're being played by someone."

"For now, we stick to the plan," Leo insisted. "Don, how's that code coming along?"

"Almost got it," Don declared, grinning broadly now. "There!"

"Let's get back to the Hovershell, and get this mess over with." Leonardo was already moving back down the street where they'd left their transport vehicle.

"Something eatin' at ya, bro?" Raph asked, watching Leo carefully as they approached the Hovershell.

"It's nothing," Leo replied coldly. "Don, what did the file say?"

"Not much," Don told them as they boarded the craft. "Stock-Chaplin Mystech wants us to break into the main facility where the data was stolen from."

"Why do they need us to do that?" Mikey wondered. "Didn't somebody else already prove their security systems were crap?"

"They've installed new features," Don explained, getting into the control seat. "And the board of directors want those features to be tested. They also suspect the thief never left the building."

"I get it," said Raph, nodding sharply. "They think it takes a thief to catch one."

"Basically," Don mused, bringing up the navigational controls to chart their course. "We create enough of a disturbance to flush the thief out, and the security systems get put through their paces all at the same time."

"How difficult is this job going to be?" Leo inquired, his face set in a series of determined lines. "What are we looking at?"

"There's nothing in the files," said Don, shutting down the holo-screen on his wrist comm. "But I can pull up any information on Stock-Chaplin Mystech from the Hovershell's computer."

"Doesn't he need to be driving?" Mikey asked in a panicky voice as the Hovershell rose up out of the parking space. "I don't think Don should drive while doing research on the computer."

"Relax, Mikey," Donatello insisted. "I could fly this thing with my eyes closed now."

The Hovershell took off toward the sky at once, serving sharply to avoid three different flying vehicles before turning sharply into a corkscrew spin.

"Eyes open, Donnie!" Mikey shouted at the top of his lungs. "Eyes open!"

Don managed to reach their destination a few minutes later with only a few scratches to the Hovershell's exterior. The Mystech main facility was located on the south end of Neo-Manhattan, diagonal in position to O'Neil Shelltech and what the holo-map indicated was Oroku Industries. Donnie had the Hovershell parked in standby mode across from Stock-Chaplin Mystech's laboratory moments later.

"Security looks tight," Raph observed. "This place reminds me of the Shredder's old office building."

"It's a lot worse than that," Mikey warned, pointing at a loading back on one side of the building thirty feet up. "Unless my little turtle eyes deceive me, those look like Mouser robots."

Everyone gathered round as Donatello brought up a holo-screen, showing the newly-designed Mousers marching along the dock platforms in synch with each other. These were a new model, boasting mounted laser cannons and tri-eyed scanners.

"I'm going to go ahead and bring up the elephant in the Hovershell," Don said. "Since nobody else has pointed it out yet. This place is called Stock-Chaplin Mystech."

"You're right," Leo acknowledged, wearing a grim face as a smaller screen zoomed in on one of the Mouser's faces.

"Somebody's going to have to walk me through this one," said a confused Mikey. "Since when did Baxter Stockman and that Chaplin guy ever like working together."

"For once, and I hate sayin' it, but Mikey's got a point," Raph agreed reluctantly. "The last we saw, Chaplin was working for Karai, and Stockman was stuck being a brain in a jar building fake aliens for that whack job, Bishop."

"I just assumed it was a coincidence," Don mused. "Obviously, that's not the case here."

"Like Master Splinter says," Leo replied warningly. "There are no coincidences in this world. Just the illusion of coincidence. Some of our enemies have teamed up, apparently."

"But this is one hundred years in the future," Don protested, pulling the holo-screen's view back so they could see the Stock-Chaplin Mystech logo, an 'S' and 'C' super-imposed over each in a Greek letter style with the word 'Mystech' sub-scripted underneath. "Even if that were the case, there's no way Stockman or Chaplin could be alive now, is it?"

"Stockman was just a brain," Mikey reminded. "Who knows how long he could survive in one of those robot bodies."

"This is gettin' too weird for me," Raph grumbled, slamming a fist into his open palm. "Leo, you honestly think we should be goin' anywhere near that place?"

Leo thought hard for a moment. "It's risky," he admitted after a moment. "But we came here to do a job, so let's do it. Don, do you think you can get us in there?"

"Um, sure," Don said, turning back to his controls. "With a little time and a lot of luck. Most of the security seems to rely on bio-senors and gravity monitors. I've spent every available minute since we got here reading up on everything I could about the technology used now. Big companies today are essentially the law in Neo-Manhattan. If we go in here, we've essentially broken into government facility."

None of the turtles looked remotely thrilled to hear this.

"At least we're still operating with familiar conditions," Leo said. "Find a place to stash the Hovershell, then check whatever you can on this place while we scope out the parameter. Raph, you take Mikey and investigate the south side. I'll take the north and west end. Once you two finish, we'll rendezvous at the east end."

"Active your Nightrunner armor," Don advised, switching his own on. "We'll be able to keep in touch a lot easier that way."

"Okay, guys," Leo said, as the hatch opened. "Let's do this."

{} {} {} {} {}

"Terminate," Darius Dun said flatly, keying in the proper codes. "If Henderson cannot fulfill the terms of his contract, this company sees no reason to continue relations with his..."

A buzz rang out, cutting the large man off. "Pardon me," he said to the board members on the various screens. "I have an urgent message coming through of a personal matter."

Dun waited until all the board screens had been blacked out before hitting the flashing red button on the holo-keyboard.

"Yes?" he demanded impatiently while a young woman's profile materialized in front of him on a new holo-screen.

"The data from the internal scans has finally arrived," his chief scientist replied, unfazed by Dan's rude demenor. "According to the nanomachines, there were no positive matches."

"Impossible," Dun declared, as though the chief were a small child. "I was told the nanomachines were the most advanced O-Neil Shelltech's has to offer. And this company monitors every species that comes within a quarter light-year of Earth. There can't be a blank spot in our comprehensive data base."

"It is possible their species is something O-Neil Shelltech hasn't encountered before," the chief scientist replied, adjusting her glasses slightly. "But I doubt it."

Dun narrowed his eyes. "Explain," he said slowly, leaning back in his chair. "And quickly."

"There were a number of unstable variables in the DNA scan," she said at once, while the screen she appeared on divided to display her findings. "At first, I thought perhaps the equipment was malfunctioning, but there is no mistake. There were traces of an unidentified substance on a cellular level in all but one subject's system. Something about the composition hinted of it being Utrom in origin, but since O-Neil Shelltech hasn't had much contact with that race in the last ten years or so, it's difficult to tell. However, what I can say for certain is that five of the subjects' DNA were a partial match for creatures found indigenous to Earth. Only the last one registered as human."

Dan felt his blood turn cold. "That can't be," he insisted, raising up. "There's no way that little brat could have actually created a... wait. What's this about a sixth subject? There were only supposed to be five!"

The chief scientist frowned. "According to the scans, there were six," she affirmed. "The one that registered as human clocks in at about eleven years of age."

Dan's face turned white. "Cody," he hissed, gritting his teeth. "That stupid android!"

"Also," she continued, not hearing Dun at all. "The nanomachines have initiated phase two. The subjects will be terminated within a few hours of an apparent cellular degenerative disease."

"No, you imbecile!" Dun roared, slamming his fist down hard on the desk. "Terminate the procedure at once. The nanomachines have somehow made it into my nephew's bloodstream."

That got the woman's attention. "Sir?" she asked, looking startled.

"If those nanomachines kill Cody in the same way as the turtles and that rat, the board will insist on an investigation," Darius informed her through grit teeth. "Furthermore, I can't maintain the power of this office unless the O'Neil-Jones brat is alive!"

"Yes, sir," she answered, bringing up her own holo-keyboard. "Terminating procedure immediately. The nanomachines will deactivate and be flushed out of their system by tomorrow morning, leaving behind no trace of their activities."

"Good," Dun said, the words slithering out between his lips like a snake's hiss. "Next time there is a mistake this drastic, I will be transferring your entire department to the Rook lunar base. Is that clear?"

"Perfectly, sir," the chief scientist replied, before closing the window out.

Dun took a moment to collect himself before un-blacking the board holo-screens. "Sorry about that, gentlemen," he said cheerily to the O'Neil Shelltech board of directors. "Now, where were we?"

"Sir," a young woman with bright pink hair said while riffling through the data on her holo-pad. "There is still the matter of Project: Black Book. The first field test appears to have been a success, yet the artificial lifeform still has not vacated Mystech's database."

Darius frowned as the rest of the board shifted uncomfortably. "Why is that?" he asked, folding his hands together on his desk. "I was under the impression that your department had full control of the cyber-creature."

"The fail safe measures remain in place," she informed, keeping her face neutral as she stared at him through the screen. "However, activating them would alert Mystech security to its presence. There is little chance that the termination procedure would not cause considerable damage to their systems. The high risk remains of them tracing everything back to us."

Darius's eyes narrowed slightly as he took this into consideration. "Have Mystech's board of directors captured our little infiltration project?" Darius asked, squeezing his hands together tightly now. "If so, then termination is the only recourse. This company cannot afford to have our rivals learn of Black Book."

"There is little fear of that," the board member assured him, bringing up another point on her holo-pad. "Viral, as the lifeform has taken to calling itself, has eluded them so far. As to why she hasn't returned, no one in the research department can conclusively say."

"Issue a two-month pay dock for the entire research division," Darius said flatly, before depressing a set of three keys on his holo-keyboard. "If they cannot find an answer, what are we paying them for?"

"Yes, sir," she answered, not reacting to the news. "We can send out a recall command, but the Mystech security systems are still on high alert. It would be traceable."

Darius thought this over for a moment. "Wait until the high alert ends," Darius said, looking displeased nonetheless. "Then initiate the recall command. It may be that our 'Viral' is simply stretching her legs. If that is the case, I suppose a little panic would do those old shamans good."

"Agreed, sir," another board member said. "Shall we move on to the Oroku contract field negotiations next?"

"Certainly," Darius said, the smile on his face dripping with malice. "I cannot wait to see what that little brat has come up with this time."

{} {} {} {} {}

Raph peered around the corner where he and Mikey had taken refuge. Not far away, a small platoon of Mousers were moving along in a programed formation. While these machines had the same head structure that the old models had, their bodies were more insect-like. Raph took in the piercing legs and sickle-shaped glowing claws, and felt his insides cringe in response.

He hated bugs, or anything remotely bug-like. Combining that with those mechanical chompers that had once eaten the turtles' home brought forth a whole new generation of nightmares.

"We're not getting' in that way," Raph mused, raising back out of sight before he was spotted. "You see another way in, Mikey?"

Raphael turned around to find Mikey grinning gleefully at the holo-screen on his wrist comm. "Take that, Emperor Dregg," he said in a much louder voice than Raph was comfortable with. "Five thousand more points and the Xylanium crystal is mine!"

Raph smacked Mikey across the back of the head. "Ow!" Mikey cried out.

"We don't have time for games, Mikey," Raph growled. "We've got a job to do, now help me look for another way in."

"What for?" Mikey wondered, closing the holo-screen. "Leo sent us to look around, and we've looked everywhere on both sides. This place is impenetrable."

Raph hated it when Mikey had a point. "There's a way inside," he insisted nevertheless, determined to not give up so easily. "If the thief we were sent here to find could squeeze in, so can we."

A light on Raph's wrist comm blinked. "Yeah?" Raph barked, feeling frustrated. "Leo, that you?"

"It's me," Leo replied, whispering softly as his vid window appeared in the lower left corner of Raph's line of sight. "Are you guys having any luck on your end?"

"None," Raph said flatly, yanking Mikey back into the shadows with him as a different breed of Mouser robots trudged past. "We got the Shell Mail packet Don sent to us highlighting all the color-coded places to avoid, but that leaves us with no ground to maneuver on."

"Same here," Leo replied in a frustrated tone. "I just don't get it, though. If the thief hacked the system, they must have done so from somewhere nearby, so why weren't they spotted."

"You're askin' the wrong turtle," Raph told his brother flatly. "All I know is, we're not getting in on this side. If these clowns wanna test out their new gear, they could have at least thrown us a bone by leaving the back door open..."

Raph was cut off as the small screen containing Leo's face flickered. "Leo, you're breaking up," Raph called out, hitting the refresh button on his wrist comm. "Leo, can you here me?"

"Leo might not be able to," Mikey said, giving Raph's shoulder a shake. "But I think somebody else has."

Raph whirled around to find several of the insectoid Mousers standing nearby, their legs clicking against the ground menacingly as they surrounded the two brothers on three sides.

"It looks like we've got trouble," Raph growled, feeling his shell press against the solid wall behind them. "And we ain't the only one, either. Leo's not answering his comm."

"Guys," Don said, an image of him appearing in the spot where Leo had been moments ago. "I've lost touch with Leo. He's not answering his comm link."

"So've we," Raph leaping clear as one of the Mousers fired a glowing net at him, snagging Michelangelo instead. "I was just talking to him when his line went dead. I think he's run into some trouble, just like we have."

"What's wrong?" Don wondered, hearing the Mousers screeching in the background. "It sounds like a bunch of alley cats are dying. Is Mikey singing again?"

"For once, I wish," Raph said, tearing into the first Mouser he reached with his laser sais. "These Mouser drones are everywhere, and whoever designed them have added some weird features."

Raph ducked as the larger of the Mousers swung at him.

"Hang tight," Don assured him, while behind Raph, Mikey managed to break free from the glowing net he'd been trapped under. "I'll have to calculate a precise flight pattern to avoid all the gravity sensors first. Keep them busy until I can pinpoint your position."

"It doesn't look like we're going anywhere," Mikey chimed in, tuning into their conversation as he sent an electrical jolt at a Mouser leaping toward him with his nunchaku. "Except maybe to an early grave."

"Hang tight, Mikey," Raph coached, back-flipping out of reach of one Mouser's sickle blades. "They haven't built a Mouser this turtle can't take apart."

The Mousers proved to be relentless opponents. Mikey leaped down in front of Raph as what appeared to be the leader opened up its head to unleash a trio of laser fire. The shield he formed from both spinning nunchaku deflected the blasts back, taking another Mouser nearby out in the process.

"No wonder this place doesn't get many visitors," Mikey cracked, keeping the shield up. "The hospitality here sucks."

Raph took to the air by way of Michelangelo's shoulders, summoning flames to his fists as he brought them down hard.

"No kidding," Raph added in spite of himself. "You'd think we were magazine subscription salesmen or something."

Raph managed to clear a shot for himself, and a chunk of the Mouser he was fighting went flying off. Mikey saw it coming and dodged out of the way, lowering his shield in the process.

"Do they even have those anymore?" he wondered as the alpha Mouser exploded.

Raph had already leaped clear, and was taking on another with his sais. "Who cares?" his hot-headed brother grunted. "Let's finish this so we can touch base with Don and figure out what the hell happened to Leo."

Despite the loss of their alpha, the remaining Mousers showed no sign of slowing down. Several more joined the fray just as Raph took down another with his flame knucklebombers.

"Dude!" Mikey cried out as several of the Mousers began overwhelming him. "Is there no end to these things?"

"Guys!" Don called out over their comm link. "I'm here. Fall back so I can get a clear shot at them."

"Easy for you to say," Mikey retorted, surrounded on all sides now.

Raph flipped through the air and tackled Michelangelo out of the approaching Hovershell's line of fire.

"Do it, Don," he ordered, as the Hovershell stopped in mid-air nearby.

Twin cannons popped out from the underside of the Hovershell. Inside the craft, Donatello took aim with the computer's controls, grinning as the Mousers fell into his scopes.

"Chew on these," the turtle genius said gleefully.

Missiles made out of what looked like white, frothy goop went flying in parallel lines. Each Mouser flew backward as the glop struck them one after the other. Raph and Mikey watched in stunned silence as the liquid seemed to expand, swelling up with the machines trapped inside.

"Gross," Mikey said flatly. "But effective."

"What sort of crazy, messed up weapon was that?" Raph wondered, looking back toward Don inside the Hovershell.

"Um," Don said, himself confused as he released the controls briefly. "I'm not sure, really."

"I hope it works just as good this time," Mikey warned, pointing toward a side channel. "Because our pest problem just got worse."

Mousers were spilling out in a phalanx. "I'll hold them off," Don said, aiming the cannons their way as the hatch lowered. "You guys climb aboard."

The twin cannons fired again as Raph and Mikey leaped up onto the hatch and climbed inside. The Hovershell was already rising back up into the air as the Mousers unloaded their lasers onto it. Don swerved hard to the right to avoid getting hit, tossing Raph and Mikey around in the process back behind him.

"We're out of here," Don declared. "I've already pinpointed the location of where Leo was before his comm signal died. He's still not answering for some reason, though."

"Let's hope he didn't run into any of those things," Mikey said, holding on to the back of the empty Hovershell chair next to Don as his brother rocketed the hovercraft around to the other side of the building.

"No such luck," Raph said coldly, looking down on the scene where the the holo-map had indicated.

Below them, the clear signs of a battle spelled out what had happened. Mouser parts were scattered all over the place, smoldering. Many bore the distinguishable mark of Leo's ninjaken. From the looks of things, their brother had given the metal monsters a run for their money.

"Remind me when we get back to the future to find Stockman and Chaplin, then ring both their necks," Raph snarled, clenching his fingers into fists.

"I'm setting the Hovershell's autopilot," Don said, hitting several keys one after the other. "It's been programmed to land on top of one of the nearby buildings and wait there for further instructions. We can send for it once we track down Leo."

"Do we really have to go back down there?" Mikey wondered, looking over the debris with a grim face. "Couldn't we just send Madame Tao some fortune cookies or something instead?"

"Get movin', Mikey," Raph told him, not taking 'no' for an answer. "Leo's down there waitin' for us, so we go together."

"Agreed," Don said, opening the hatch. "Assuming he's been captured by security, I think I can hack some of the perimeter defenses and sealed doors to give us access, though it won't be easy."

"We'll take what we can get," Raph assured him, before giving Mikey a small nudge out the opening. "Anything you can't slip us through, I'll just have to open with these."

Raph drew out his sais and gave them a twirl for emphasis. "Now let's get to it," he said, jumping out with Don at his side.

Once all three were on the ground, Don went to work examining the strewn debris while Raph had a look around farther out.

"Leo went this way," Raph determined, observing the subtle trail his older brother had left behind. "Those Mouser drones must have gotten the drop on him after he finished these off and dragged him away."

"And unless my turtle eyes deceive me," Don piped up, pointing to what looked like a pair of metal double doors in the distance. "That's an employee entrance. The Mousers could have herded Leo through there."

"Want me to get the door?" Raph asked, lighting up his fists hopefully.

"I think this situation requires a little more finesse," Don chided, as they headed for the doors together. "Allow me."

"Better make it fast," Mikey said, quickening his footsteps as he glanced back the way they'd come from. "Because unless my little turtle eyes deceive me, those are more Mousers headed our way."

"Bring it on," Raph declared, drawing out his sais. "Get the door for us, Don. Mikey and I can handle these tin cans."

"I'm there."

Don took off for the door just a few feet away, and began linking his control panel to the console next to it. Raphael and Michelangelo both charged forward, bringing their weapons out as the new grade of Mouser, these with extendable tendrils and claws, landed in front of them.

Mikey kept his shield up to ward off the blasts as Raph dove right in, hacking away at the metallic tentacles.

"These things give me a bad feeling," Mikey groaned as his nunchaku smashed apart a Mouser's metal head.

"Just shut your mouth and keep fighting," Raph ordered, cutting deep into one Mouser's innards. "We gotta give Donnie time."

"Shows how well you know me, Raph," Don called out, waving them over. "The door's open!"

"Next stop," Mikey called out as he and Raph raced toward the entrance where Don was already waiting inside. "Ladies lingerie, spare Mouser parts, and evil corporate espionage. Doorman, if you would be so kind?"

Don bowed, and sealed the doors back with a push of a button on his wrist comm. "Easy enough," Don said calmly as the sound of numerous Mousers colliding with one another resounded from the other side. "Which way should we go next?"

_**YoU fOoLs WoNt Be GoInG aNyWhErE!**_

"Who said that?" Mikey squeaked out.

All three turtles brought their weapons out as a figure materialized on a holo-screen overhead.

_**i Am CaLlEd ViRaL.**_

Don the others watched as the holo-screen split itself into several, slightly smaller versions. Each one held the same image, the face of a severely distorted woman, colored bright red. The holoscreens spun around them in the small, narrow hall space where they stood.

_**yOu tHrEe ArE tHe NiGhTrUnNeRs HiReD tO cApTuRe Me. ViRaL iS tHe QuEeN oF cYbErSpAcE. i WiLl NoT bE sUbDuEd AnD dRaGgEd BaCk To OnEiL sHeLlTeCh LiKe SoMe CoMmOn PrOgRaM.**_

"What if we asked her to come back with us nicely?" Mikey asked his brothers. "Like an uncommon program?"

"What's this about O'Neil Shelltech?" Donnie wondered.

"Who cares?" Raph said, gripping his sais. "I'd say we just located our thief, and something tells me this bitch knows where Leo is."

_**nO oNe InSuLtS vIrAl AnD lIvEs!**_

The holo-screens shined brightly for a second, illuminated the narrow corridor. The turtles steeled themselves for an attack, but were thrown back as the holo-screens themselves crackled. One after the other, each screen swooped down into one of the turtles, electrocuting them.

"Hard light molecules," Don surmised, as Raph went down next to him. "Ionized to create a static discharge. Argh!"

Don was cut short from his explanation as the screen swooping above him finally touched it's mark, sending a jolt through his body that rattled his wisdom teeth. The brains of the group hadn't expected it to hurt that much, but what followed startled him even more. Instead of tapering off, the pain actually intensified. Dimly, he heard Raph and Mikey crying out in pain alongside him.

_**YoU tHrEe HaVe BeEn InUnDaTeD wItH nAnOmAcHiNeRy. ThIs WiLl Be MuCh EaSiEr ThAn I hAd AnTiCiPaTeD.**_

Pain held Don's body in it's grip as his blood caught fire. The last thing he heard as his mind clouded was Viral's insane laughter.

"Leo," he gasped weakly. "Where are you?"


	5. Episode 5 Starve a Cold, Feed a Fever

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Re: Fast Forward

Episode 5

Starve a Cold, Feed a Fever

by That Long-Haired Creepy Guy

_You know what I really hate?_

_ Simple answers. Growing up, I always had a thing for math. There was always a right answer, no matter how complicated the problem seemed at first glance. And the more complex a problem was, the more excited I got. The answer was somewhere. I just had to locate the hidden variable._

_ Today, we've run into an unknown variable who calls herself Viral. From the look of things, she's some sort of artificial cyberspace lifeform. There are a number of unanswered questions, like where she came from, what she was doing stealing clandestine information from Stock-Chaplain Mystech, and why she attacked us the minute we got inside the laboratory._

_ Unfortunately, all of those questions don't matter, and it comes down to a very simple answer, which is precisely the kind I hate. Viral is going to kill us, and it doesn't look like there's anything I can do to save my brothers, or myself. Something has gone wrong, and I can't find the answer._

_ It doesn't look like there's going to be enough time for me to figure this one out._

{} {} {} {} {}

"Leo!"

Donnie's cry reverberated off the walls, yet was still drown out by Viral's insane cackling.

"_**tHeRe CaN bE nO eScApE**_," she crowed, as the holo-screens containing her visage warped and distorted. "_**i HaVe AmPlIfIeD tHe pRoCeSs EnCrYpTeD iNsIdE tHe NaNoMaChInE dRiVeRs. SoOn, yOu WiLl AlL dIe!**_"

Mikey had fallen forward on his face, unconscious. Raph was fighting with everything he had to push himself back up off the floor as sweat dripped through his Nightrunner armor. From the look of things, he wasn't going to last much longer. Seeing this, Donnie struggled against the pain, taking aim as he raised his bo staff. The blast from the tip passed by the nearest holo-screen harmlessly as it turned sideways. The other faces of Viral laughed at this.

"_**FoOl!**_" she denounced, malice gleaming in her digital eyes.

Something moved to Don's left. Turning, he saw Raph slowly getting to his feet, both hands shaking as they held the sais up.

"No overblown virtual pet with an attitude is takin' us down," he snarled, eyes blazing with rage.

Don watched as Raph managed to leap high enough into the air so that one of his sais sliced cleanly through a nearby holo-screen. The image of Viral there recoiled in horror a split second before vanishing. The holo-screen disappeared, but the exertion on Raph's part caused his knees to give out from under him as he hit the floor.

"Come on, Leo," Raph hissed, as fresh pain grabbed at his insides. "Where are you, bro?"

Thinking fast around the fire searing through his veins, Don opened his wrist comm and brought up his own holo-screen.

"I've got to do something," he gasped. "Or we're all finished."

{} {} {} {} {}

Darius grimaced as the signal for the emergency line beeped. "That will be all for now," he announced, giving the board a hard stare for good measure via the holo-screen. "This meeting is adjourned."

The moment the board's screens had vanished, Darius hit the button on his holographic keyboard. "What is it?" he demanded.

"Sir!" A frantic-looking young man with short, vibrant red hair appeared on-screen in front of his desk. "We just got a report for the nanotech facility. The nanomachines you had commissioned to analyze those five aliens have reactivated."

"Quite, you imbecile," Darius barked, before making several keystrokes. "This line isn't totally secure."

"I've already blanketed the signal and masked our transmission with triple encryption," the man cut in quickly. "It was the best I could do on short notice."

"Very well, then," Darius said, relaxing somewhat. "What is the problem exactly?"

"According to the nanotech report that just came through, the nanomachines have been reactivated by an outside source."

The red-head ruffled a hand through his hair nervously as he spoke. "It happened roughly two minutes ago, apparently from some kind of ionic surge. Furthermore, the report says that the nanomachines show signs of being tampered with."

"Where is the signal from the nanomachines coming from?" Darius demanded, growing alarmed now.

"Stock-Chaplain Mystech, according to the report," he answered. "Half of the nanomachines are now operating at an accelerated rate."

Darius smiled upon hearing this. "This could work out just fine, then," he said. "If those nanomachines dispose of the terrapin creatures, all the better. Make sure this cannot be traced back to O'Neil Shelltech, then allow the machines to finish the job."

"You don't understand," the red-head insisted urgently. "All of the nanomachines are operating. They work on an wireless conjunction signal. Only three have been tampered with so far, but when the ionic surge occurred, it tripped the entire system back on."

Darius's eyes widened as he realized what the young man was saying. "Shut them down," he ordered. "At once."

"We've been trying," the red-head said. "None of the machines are responding. Whatever took control of them has locked us out."

A light flickered across Darius's eyes. "Ms. Akrulantis," he said, signaling his personal secretary.

"Sir?" the alien woman asked, coming up on holo-screen.

"Send a notice to the cyber-tech laboratory," he ordered. "Project: Black Book is to be terminated at once."

"At once, sir," she confirmed obediently, before dissolving her screen.

"That artificial lifeform is about to cause a disaster," Darius growled. "I need someone who can clear this fiasco up efficiently without exposing this company to scandal."

"Sir, if I may," the young man began, looking hopeful now, "O'Neil Shelltech has several Nightrunners on its private roster that come with very good recommendations."

Darius frowned as he studied the man for a moment. "Very well," he said. "Find someone who can handle this quickly and efficiently, then transfer the contact information to me. I will handle this matter myself."

"Absolutely."

"One more thing," Darius added, before the red-head's screen vanished. "If the Nightrunners fail, I will have to send someone to clean up the mess that you've left me with. Make sure you send me someone competent so this doesn't happen."

The young man paled slightly, but nodded before closing his screen. "It is just so hard to find good help in this day and age," Darius muttered, turning his chair around to a separate holo-screen appearing over the O'Neil Shelltech building's view of Neo-Manhattan. "Then again, I might be able to turn this whole fiasco to my advantage."

Darius pressed a button on his chair's personal holo-keyboard. "Computer," he barked loudly. "Contact Serling for me."

"Contacting," the computer's female voice replied. "Secure connection established."

Static covered the holo-screen for a moment before the interior of the Kame Dojo appeared. Darius could see what looked like one of the lower rooms being assaulted by a vacuum android on autopilot mode. Judging by the surrounding chaos, it had been going on a rampage for several minutes already.

"Come back here, you mis-assembled pile of servos and circuitry," Serlings crisp, robotic voice shouted.

Darius watched with some amusement as the view of his nephew's private collection room went on the fritz for a moment due to what looked like Serling crashing head-first into a wall.

"Serling," Darius said, as his vid window appeared inside the robot's internal optic sensors. "I have a message for you."

"Oh, Master Darius," Serling gasped, staggering backward slightly. "Forgive me, sir. You startled me. What can I do for you today?"

Darius grinned. "Serling," he said in a slow, gleeful tone. "Protocol: Alpha."

{} {} {} {} {}

It was pandemonium.

Mikey swung his nunchaku in twin circles as fast as his aching arms would allow. The light shield formed from them was barely able to hold back the oppressive fire from the mounted laser canons on the walls. Don nevertheless struggled to keep the pain in check as he hacked his way through the systems controlling the section of the building they were in.

Raph, meanwhile, had been taking out the lasers when he suddenly collapsed. Whatever Viral had done to them was taking a serious toll. Don forced everything else out of his mind as a nasty encryption scrambler caught him off-guard, forcing him to by-pass several otherwise perfectly safe routes to avoid tripping the alarms.

To his shock, Mikey fell forward as Viral's affliction intensified its grip, forcing him back down to the ground. They had already shaken him awake once before. Now the strain was proving too much.

"It can't end like this," Don gasped. "I've got to find a way."

"Donnie, get down."

Don turned sharply, sending a spasm of pain through his shell, as Leonardo somersaulted over his head with swords drawn. The enhanced blades sliced cleanly through the air, blocking a line of laser fire that would have taken his brother's head off at the shoulders.

"Moria," he called out over his shoulder. "Do it now."

Don spotted a young woman with long, silver dregs holding what looked like a plasma cannon of some kind. The weapon roared as a blast of intense heat cut through the air, liquifying two of the mounted lasers at the same time.

Leonardo was already moving back down the corridor where Don and the others had come from, taking out each blaster on the wall as he went. Upon reaching the door they'd come through, Leo spun through the air, and with two clean cuts, reduced the last blaster to metal ribbons.

"Leo," Donnie gasped, feeling weaker. "Your timing is perfect."

"Don," Leo called out, racing back to where his brother was kneeling. "Don, what happened? Are you guys alright?"

"I don't think so," Don moaned, as a wave of dizziness took him over. "The thing that attacked us... she called herself Viral. Some sort of..."

"Don't talk," the woman called Moria said as she pressed a button on the plasma cannon's side, causing it to fold up into a more compact mode.

Moria slapped the now holster-sized blaster to her tight. "We have a medical facility for employees not far from here," she informed Leo. "It would be best to take them straight there."

"Right," Leo said, reaching down to lift Don up. "Help me carry them,"

"No need," Moria replied, pressing a button on her ear piece. "I'm sending for a hover platform. It's much faster this way."

"Splinter _tou-chan_," Leo heard Mikey mutter. "Can I have some chicken soup please?"

The hover platform arrived less than a minute later. Two of the three men on board leaped off, while the third set the oval disk down on the floor. Moria and her two subordinates helped Leo load his brothers on board. Once everyone was secure, she gave the order, and the controller steered the platform down through the maze of corridors to the employee medical facility.

"On the tables," Moria commanded as the platform sailed through the opening doors. "Hurry. It doesn't look like they've got much time."

Leo's face was grim as he helped carry Michelangelo over to a nearby table. The facility's specialists were already on the move. The minute Leo was clear; an overhanging scanner was switched on. The light from it bathed Raphael in its soft glow while several holo-screens appeared around his table, broadcasting their findings.

"This is Dr. Twi'jerllzi," Moria informed him curtly, gesturing to the alien in a doctor's lab coat standing beside her. "He needs to look you over as well. Once this is over, though, we need to have a talk."

"The problem seems fairly clear," the doctor told Leo as he led the turtle over to a similar-looking piece of scanning equipment. "Your brothers were afflicted with some type of malignant nanomachine colony. It was designed to induce degeneration in your body on a cellular level. The lifeform anomaly you all encountered merely accelerated the process in them."

"Please, Doctor..." Leo pleaded.

"Twi'jerllzi," the blue-skinned male with horns for hair said, smiling. "Around here, most folks call me Twigger, or Doc Twij."

"Doc Twij," Leo tried, earning him a warm smile. "Can you help my brothers?"

"It's a simple enough process," the doc assured him. "The nanomachine colony will have to be deactivated, and then purged from your systems. The hard part comes from not being familiar with your species."

Leonardo turned away for a moment as Doc Twij continued his examination, moving a portable, hand-held scanner back and forth over his legs.

"My brothers and I aren't aliens," he said quietly.

All three of Doc Twij's eyes widened at this. "Could've fooled me," he muttered. "What precisely are you, then?"

"Mutants," Leo explained. "Look, it's a really long story, and I'm afraid I don't have all the answers for you. We were involved in an accident with an Utrom experiment, and ended up like this."

"Sounds like a fascinating tale," Doc Twij said, moving the scanner away. "And my preliminary findings support everything you've told me. We'll still have to be careful, but expunging the nano-colony from your bodies shouldn't be too difficult."

Leo sighed. "Thank you, Doc Twij," he said.

"We'll still need to hurry, though," Twij warned. "You've been given a small reprieve, since the colony was only reactivated inside of you, but the deterioration in your brothers is moving at a much faster rate."

"How long?" Leo asked, growing more worried by the second.

"Doctor Twi'jerllzi," Moria interrupted, wearing a curt expression as she approached the work station. "The other physicians need to speak with you. It's about the nano-colony extraction process."

"They have an hour or so," Doc Twij informed Leo as he began moving away. "But I'm fairly confident we can save them. Just sit tight there while I see to this."

Moria waited until the doctor was out of earshot, not taking her eyes off Leonardo once. Leo met her stare with one of his own.

"Your story checks out," she told him. "Someone did hire you to test the security features here. Apparently, the Mouser droids that attacked you were under somebody else's control. You were never supposed to encounter them in that sector, much less dismantle the whole platoon."

"Sorry," Leo replied, unconcerned for the moment. "It was me against five of them, though."

"They will be expensive to replace," Moria insisted, before relaxing slightly. "I'm just glad I caught you before you could do any more damage. This whole operation has been a fiasco."

Leo turned away in silent agreement as he thought back to how his shell had rattled when Moria's stun ray hit him from behind. It had taken a good ten minutes of persuading before she would even consent to listen to him. After that, they'd both heard the explosions, before Moria was ordered by someone over her comm link to report to the other side of the building. By the time the chief of security had arrived, dragging Leonardo along in tow, the fight had ended, and the door where the intruders had escaped behind was sealed tightly.

Leo had suspected his brothers had found trouble. Despite not being very forthcoming, Moria had let it slip that something was wrong with the Mouser guidance systems. Something was herding them along, making them attack people at random. Thus far, the lab had kept the news from going public.

"At least we figured out what caused the Mousers to run wild," he said aloud, looking back to the security chief with a wry expression. "Donatello called her Viral, I think."

Moria's mouth turned upward slightly at this. "We'd heard rumors before now that O'Neil Shelltech was working on creating artificial cybernetic life. It looks as though one of their experiments got loose and went on a joyride through this facility's systems."

"That explains the data theft," Leo said, thinking back to what their contact at the Grindhouse had told them. "But why would it be running wild now?"

Moria gave Leo a smirk. "You boys really are new to this Nightrunner gig, aren't you?" she asked, clearly amused now. "I guess I can throw you bone, since you were nice enough to stick around."

"My brothers are sick," Leo pointed out. "Where was I going to go?"

Moria's expression changed for a moment at this, and she quickly glanced over to where the others were currently resting. The medical team had been busying themselves for several minutes, hooking them humanoid turtles up to equipment that would purge their systems of the hive colony.

"It's a good thing we caught this when we did," Moria said quietly. "The problem with nanomachine death is that it typically isn't detected until the condition is irreversible. Viral exposed the problem when she sped up the process. That's why the team here is so optimistic."

Leo watched as one of the personnel began draining fluid out of Mikey's arm. "They'll be fine," Moria added after a moment's pause. "This facility is among the best that Mystech has. I've lost track of how many times they brought me here to be patched up."

Leo observed the security chief for a moment as she moved ever so slightly to stand directly in his line of sight. Dark hair hung around her face, framing it nicely. An eye patch covered the left side of her face, partially shielding what looked like severe scaring. Her right arm was completely bio-mechanical, meaning her otherwise fit body leaned ever so slightly in that direction because of the added weight.

Leo supposed, by the human standards of this time period, she was quite attractive.

"This is how companies work," Moria explained, snapping Leo out of his deep thoughts. "Mystech, O'Neil Shelltech, and Oroku Industries are the three major players here in Neo-Manhattan. For all anyone knows, that thing is doing exactly what it was created to do."

Off to the side, the equipment hummed softly as the nano-colony was extracted from Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Leo watched for a moment, his eyes clouded with fear and worry, before looking back to Moria.

"This is just business as usual for me," Moria continued. "So how come you and your brothers got mixed up in this? You don't seem the right type for Nightrunning."

Leo watched Moria for a moment before replying. "My brothers and I wound up getting ourselves indebted to a woman named Madame Tao," he said. "Taking this job was the only way to pay her back. It was supposed to be simple."

Moria laughed. "Everything is always supposed to be simple," she informed coyly. "But it never turns out that way."

A warbling sound echoed across the room from Dr. Twi'jerllzi, cutting them off. "We're nearly finished," he said, as several of his subordinates moved around frantically. "Your brothers should recover quickly, but they'll still need to stay for a while under observation, just to make sure there are no lingering side effects. Once this is over, it will be your..."

"A'ki'cho!" one of the aids called out, sounding frantic. "The system is overloading. There's some sort of disturbance in the..."

The aid was cut off as the machinery surrounding the turtles began to short out. Seeing this, Moria drew out a small blaster from her jacket holster and took aim as Viral's face began materializing on the holo-screens.

"_**fOlLs**_," she jeered, her electronic voice sending chills through Leo's blood. "_**yOuVe MaNaGeD tO dO eXaCtLy WhAt I wAs HoPiNg YoU wOuLd TrY.**_"

Leo drew his swords out as Moria fired at the screens. Each shot passed through the holographic plates harmlessly. Viral cackled at this, before firing a pulse through the air at her. Leo jumped in the way just in time, blocking the static discharge with his blades.

"_**i UpLoAdEd A pOrTiOn oF mY cOdE iNtO tHeSe TeRrApIn CrEaTuReS dUrInG mY AsSaUlT**_," Viral shouted for the whole room to hear."_**NoW aLl ThAt ReMaInS iS fOr Me To DoWnLoAd ThE rEmAiNdEr oF mY CoNsCiOuSnEsS iNtO tHe NaNoMaChInE cOlOnY**_."

Leo and Moria watched while the rest of the personnel scattered as red electric discharge exploded out from one of the scanners hanging over Mikey's head. Immediately, it dove for the bag of fluid containing the nanomachine colony the medical team had just removed from him. The discharge arched through the air at the same time, bouncing over to Donatello's bag, and then to Raph's.

Viral's laughter persisted the whole time.

"_**nOw I hAvE tHe MeAnS tO eScApE cYbErSpAcE!**_"

"The shell you will," Leo cried out, racing to his brothers' aid with both swords drawn. "Get the hell away from my family."

All three bags spontaneously burst at the same time, sending a blast out at Leo before he could block in time. Leo was thrown back onto his shell as Viral's mad cackling persisted. The electrical storm filling the room intensified, then, as the colony of freed nanomachines rose up into the air near the ceiling, raining bursts of energy down on everyone.

Several of the room's inhabitants made a run for the door, but Moria aimed her gun up at the source of the problem and fired.

This time, the shots seemed to do some damage.

"_**tHaT wAs A fOlLiSh ThiNg To Do**_," Viral warned, turning her full attention to the security chief. "_**nOw FaCe ThE wRaTh Of ViRaL**_."

"Face this."

Leo cried out as he swiped his swords cleanly through the air, creation an energy wave that flew toward where Viral's colony was codifying. Viral screamed in both shock and pain as the wave sliced through her, dispersing the colony and leaving her vulnerable.

"Nice one," Moria complimented, before decompressing her plasma cannon. "Now let's see if I can finally cure the common cold."

The blast of hot plasma burned straight through the regrouping nanomachines. Viral's voice could be heard from inside the cluster, still screaming in surprised pain.

"Keep it up," Leo told her, as Moria fired again, burning a hole straight through the ceiling to the next floor. "I think its working."

Viral swooped out of the way as Moria fired a third time. This blast created a gaping hole connecting the two previous ones, leaving the ceiling wide open. Seeing this, the cluster of nanomachines ducked out of the way as Leo send another energy wave through his swords at her, before seeping away through the wound in the ceiling.

"She's getting away," Moria shouted angrily.

"No, she's not," Leo replied, clasping both hands together. "All aboard the turtle express. No shoving, please."

Moria grinned, and holstered her blaster as she ran toward Leo, planting a boot firmly in his hands. With one solid heft, Leo tossed Moria into the air through the opening, then leaped straight up after her.

The two of them landed together side-by-side in what looked like an open hallway. "Doc Twij," Moria said through her comm link. "Make sure that none of your staff was harmed during the altercation, then see to the three remaining terrapins. They may require further treatment."

"No one here appears to be severely injured," Doc Twij replied, opening the bandwidth so Leonardo could see him on his vid screen as well. "But the other young one must return to the lab at once. The nanomachines infecting him are still active, and the more he exerts himself physically, the more danger he puts his body in."

"I still have a job to do," Leo replied, taking point as he and Moria took off down the hall together. "Right now, my brothers are out of commission, leaving me the only one who can settle our debt."

"But Viral may have accelerated the nanomachines inside of you the same way she did with your brothers," the doc insisted, looking worried. "You could be suffering from the same condition and not know it."

"I feel fine," Leo insisted. "The others need you more right now."

"You need to listen to your doctor, young man," Doc Twij retorted irritably. "Why is it young people assume their bodies are indestructible."

"For right now, he's with me," Moria cut in, as she and Leo rounded the corner. "I could use the extra help, and if it looks like his health is in danger, I'll send him packing back to your facility to treat."

Leo gave her a look, which only made Moria grin. "Help his brothers," she told Doc Twij. "Consider it a favor from me. We'll work out the payment plan later."

"If you insist," the doc said, rolling one eye. "Try not to let the little terrapin die. I'm still anxious to hear how he and his brothers came to be the way they are."

"I wouldn't mind hearing that myself," she said. "Over and out."

Leo opened his mouth, intent on asking Moria where Viral might have gotten off to, but the question was rendered moot as they came around another corner together.

"Never mind," he muttered, surveying the damage. "It looks like Viral left us her calling card to follow."

"What's a calling card?" Moria wondered, leaping high over the scattered bits of Mouser parts blocking their path. "Look at the damage that thing did. I hope none of this comes out of my paycheck."

"That's the least of our problems," Leo cut back, following the trail of chaos as it rounded yet another corner.

Electrical burns marred the walls and floors. Deep gouges had been cut along the ceiling, resembling claw marks made by some savage animal. Doors had been torn loose, and were now lying in a mangled state on the floor.

There were also bodies.

"I need a med-vac squad to Fuchsia Sector on level two," Moria said through her comm link. "We've got a critical situation here."

"I'm going on ahead," Leo said, breaking into a run.

"The hell you are," Moria countered, catching up to him as they came up on another set of destroyed Mousers. "If this thing can tear whole Mousers apart in a few seconds flat, you won't stand a chance against it alone."

The further along they traveled, the worse the damage got. A condensed hurricane might as well have taken over the building. As they followed the path of destruction from the second floor up through the third and fourth levels, Leo made sure to stop whenever they came across injured Mystech personnel.

Moria made no complain, signaling for more medical teams while he confirmed which ones were still alive.

"Why is Viral attacking so many Mouser patrol units?" she asked as they came up on an elevator whose doors had been torn off.

"I don't know," Leo admitted. "This is the sort of thing Don is usually good at."

"They'll be fine," she promised, coming to a stop outside the exposed elevator shaft. "Doc Twij considers it a grievous insult when his patients die on him."

Leo tried not to think on that too much, instead turning his focus toward the torn open shaft while Moria stood guard, watching his back.

"This is an express elevator," she said, after seeing the coast was clear. "That thing could get to any floor of the building using this."

"It looks like Viral went straight up," said Leo, spotting the opening made at the very top. "All the way up to the roof. How are we going to get there?"

Moria whipped out a key card in answer. "There's another elevator not far from here," she said. "I can get us there with this, but why would Viral be headed for the roof?"

Their conversation continued as Leo followed her down a separate hallway. "Viral said something back at the medical lab about breaking free of cyberspace," he reminded her. "Maybe she wants to get out of the building and see the city."

Moria stopped short in front of another set of elevator doors. "Seems kind of uninspired," she remarked, shoving the card into the slot. "I thought all monstrosities of science wanted to take over the world."

This made Leo laugh. "You're starting to remind me of Mikey," he told her, getting in before the doors closed. "He loves those kinds of films."

Moria swiped her card again, punching in several commands on the board. "Mikey's the name of one of your brothers?" she asked, as the car started to move.

"Short for Michelangelo," Leo told her, holding on tight as they picked up speed.

"Ah," Moria said. "Interesting. Maybe I should ask him what he's doing next Friday night after work instead?"

"I..." Leo fumbled over his syllables for a moment before his jaw dropped completely. "Wait, what?"

Moria let out a giggle as the elevator stopped. "Business first," she chirped, moving through the opening doors. "Then pleasure."

Leo followed after, still feeling like he'd been knocked for a loop. The scene that greeted them on the Mystech building roof, however, was enough to bring him back. Leo had to stop short to keep from colliding with Moria, who had slowed her sprint to a crawl.

Viral's image was floating in holo-screens everywhere. In the middle of the roof was some kind of transmission tower. The living computer virus had assimilated herself into the massive pillar of wire and metal framing. All around it were Mouser parts, each fragmented piece salvaged from the wreckage below. The colony of nanomachines was moving frantically in a circular motion, like a tornado made of tiny bits, traveling from one Mouser part to the next. At each turn, they assembled more and more pieces together. The electromagnetic storm generated by the tower was keeping everything afloat.

"What's it doing?" Moria wondered, sounding afraid for the first time.

"I haven't got a clue," Leo said. "Dammit, where is Donnie when I need him?"

"We have to play the cards we're dealt," Moria declared, getting her second wind of courage. "This thing has got to be taken out before it destroys this whole complex. We aren't dealing with a simple case of data theft anymore."

"No, it's not," Leo replied, raising both swords high. "This case calls for some twentieth century demolition, turtle-style."

"_**yOu FoOlS cAnNoT sToP mE**_," Viral declared, her voice not amplified to screeching levels. "_**WiTh ThE mOuSeR pArTs AnD tHiS aNtEnNa, My NaNoMaChInE cOlOnY wIlL hAvE nO pRoBlEmS sPrEaDiNg mY iNfLuNcE aLl OvEr NeO-mAnHaTtAn**_."

"That voice of hers is really beginning to get on my nerves," Moria grumbled, drawing out her plasma cannon. "I think it's time somebody shut that silicon bitch up."

"_**pRePaRe To MeEt YoUr GrEaTeSt NiGhTmArE**_," Viral howled, as the Mouser parts collided with one another amid the swirling cloud of machinery. "_**ViRaL mOuSeRs, VeRsIoN oNe-PoInT-oNe**_."

The vortex of spinning nanomachines crashed to the roof's surface as Viral began cackling. Inside, hundreds of different Mouser parts came together. Moria and Leo moved back away from the chaos as shapes took form inside the artificial twister.

One of the floating holo-screens showing Viral's face lowered itself down to where the newly-formed Mousers were standing in a row.

"_**dEsTrOy ThEm**_," she ordered coldly.

These Mousers, Leo saw, were vaguely humanoid. Long claws hung down low near the ground, perfect for ripping and tearing. Their bodies were a solid blood-red color with golden eyes that zeroed in on Moria and his position at once. One after the other, the Viral Mousers clicked across the surface of the roof toward them, holding their spindle arms up so that the claws were visible.

"This is bad," said Moria.

"I noticed," Leo replied. "But a ninja can take any bad situation and turn it to his advantage. Stay behind me and try not to get hurt."

The burn from Moria's glare was enough to make Leo flinch. "The heck I will," she barked, stepping in front of him. "This is my job, shellback. What say you stay out of my way, and let me do my job, eh?"

One of the Viral Mousers took advantage of their being distracted, and lunged forward with both sets of claws out. Leo saw it coming, and blocked the attack with his sword.

"What say we survive this, and argue later?" he offered, as a second Viral Mouser joined their comrade in the assault, forcing him to block with his other blade.

"Good plan," Moria said, taking aim with her plasma cannon as she leaped off to the side out of his way. "I like a man who knows how to keep his priorities straight."

The remaining Viral Mouser was about to jump Leo, but Moria saved him with a shot from her plasma cannon. The blast cut through it like a hot knife through butter.

"Think you can stay alive while I keep that bitch from doing whatever she's doing to the transmission tower?" she asked him, before running past.

"I'll do my best," Leo said, shoving the Mousers back far enough to give himself some space.

Leo then took half a step backward, putting pressure onto his leg, and flipped his body forward over the Mousers' heads. His blades swung with him, slicing through the head of each Mouser, cutting them in half.

"That was easy," Leo mused, landing on his feet. "Don makes this stuff sound hard most of the time."

The Viral Mousers behind him began shrieking. Leo glanced back, startled by the noise, and saw that the metal was healing itself.

"Ah, shell," Leo grumbled, as the Mousers fused back together, whole.

"Maybe Raph was right," he said, keeping his blades ready as the Mousers moved in for the kill. "The turtle luck is staying true to form, even here."

Leo's blades were a windstorm of movement as they blocked and parried each attack from the claws of the Viral Mousers. More were closing in on him now from behind. Ducking, he sliced one in two from underneath as two more snapped hungrily at his legs.

"Don't let them have anything of yours that I might want later," Moria called out. "Just a few more seconds, and this'll be all over."

"_**pItIfUl HuMaN**_," Viral jeered, looming over Moria's body via one of her holo-screens. "_**nO oNe CaN mAtCh ThE pOwEr Of ViRaL**_."

"I beg to differ," Moria said coldly as she took aim for the tower.

Viral's face twisted into a misshapen frown. "What are you trying to...?"

Moria smirked as her plasma cannon went off, blasting straight through the intangible holo-screen, hitting the power box behind it instead.

"_**NnNoOoOoO**_!"

Viral's scream was drown out as the explosion set off a chain reaction, causing the whole tower to short out. Sparks rained down as the transmission tower was rocked back and forth unsteadily. Metal screeched from the strain of being pulled hard in many different directions at once.

Leo kept his head focused on the problem in front of him. For each Mouser he brought down, another attacked him, forcing him back while the injured one healed itself. Seeing the pattern, he waited until two of them were lined up perfectly on either side, then rolled out of the way when they jumped. The two Viral drones collided into one another in mid-air, leaving themselves wide open for Leo's attack.

Leo repeated the pattern, making sure the damaged Mousers were too badly injured to repair themselves quickly. Soon, there was only one left, and as he stood there debating how to handle it, Moria saved him the trouble by blasting through its head.

Leo shot her a look that was halfway between miffed and appreciation. "I had it," he told her, putting his swords away.

"I know," Moria replied causally, sauntering up to him. "But that would have taken valuable time."

Leo opened his mouth to speak. What he was about to say got lodged in his throat, and thrown straight out of his brain, as Moria grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in for a kiss. The mutant turtle's mouth burned as she held him to her.

"Not bad," she said, once they separated. "Most aliens think kissing is gross."

Something about the word 'alien' made Leo's brain shift back into gear, somewhat. "Not an alien," he managed to blurt out. "Mutant, remember?"

"Even better," she said, smiling. "So, now that we've taken care of business, care to join me for some after-hours fun?"

One of the Viral Mousers was twitching behind them. "There," Leo said, drawing his sword and cutting it into smaller pieces.

"Good eye," Moria praised. "I like you more and more by the minute."

"My brothers," Leo said, sheathing his blades again. "I need to go see about them."

"And he thinks of family first." Moria looked positively thrilled now. "Where the hell were you when I was just starting out?"

"A long way from here," Leo told her cryptically. "Look, I hate to say it, but we hardly know one another. Why would you be interested in me?"

"Because you are interesting," she replied. "You know how to take care of yourself, so I don't have to worry about watching out for you. You're fast, you're smart, you're agile, and nothing seems to faze you. In my line of work, those are valuable traits."

"Sorry," Leo told her. "I guess I'm a little new at this. Until recently, my brothers and I didn't get out much."

"And I came on too strong?" she asked, suddenly looking a little embarrassed.

"Maybe a little," he admitted. "Plus, we're still surrounded by killer self-repairing robots that haven't stopped moving."

Moria glanced around at the circle of broken parts that were slowly beginning to stir. "Maybe you're right," she said. "What say we do this later, after the containment unit gets up here to clean up the mess we made?"

"_**tHe Tw... F yOu W... E gOiNg AnYWhEr...**_"

Moria and Leo turned as a holo-screen, slightly warped and marred by static, appeared in front of the transmission tower.

"._**..hIs IsNt OvEr**_!"

A burst of red static flew down from the tower. Leo dodged, launching himself in the opposite direction away from Moria as the blast scattered all over the twitching Mouser parts.

"That can't be good news," Moria said, coming up from her backflip.

"I think you're right," Leo said, watching as the various parts quickly lumped together into a single pile.

"_**tHe QuEeN oF cYbErSpAcE wIlL nOt SuBmIt To mErE fLeShLiNgS**_," Viral cackled as the Mouser parts bonded together to form a single body. "_**pRePaRe To Be AnNiHiLaTeD**_."

It was like something from one of Michelangelo's old horror flicks. The body Viral constructed for herself had multiple arms, each one waving massive claws. The head was vaguely human-shaped, yet the jaw snapped open and shut the way any Mouser's would, letting out a short screech each time.

It was an abomination.

Leo brought up his wrist comm window and began pressing buttons frantically. "I sure hope Don installed something in here that can help me," he said in a panic.

Viral gave another screech, then moved toward Moria, who had already taken aim with her plasma cannon.

"Get away from her," shouted Leo. "This is between you and me, Viral."

Something roared overhead, drowning out Viral's snarl. "Now what?" Leo wondered, looking up into the sky.

Two figures were circling the rooftop now, flying parallel to one another. Both kept Viral in their sights the whole time. The wrist comm on Leo's arm crackled as their flight pattern zeroed in on the mechanical monster just a few feet from where he stood.

"Shuryo," Leo overhead via his comm link. "We have visual confirmation on the target. Requesting permission to engage."

Leonard froze, sure he was mishearing things. Apparently, his wrist comm had somehow hacked into the signal the two new arrivals were using.

"Don never mentioned I could do that," he muttered.

"Permission granted," a different voice responded. "Remember, nothing is to be left behind. Make sure there is no trace of Black Book."

"Acknowledged."

The two fliers broke the circular pattern, but stayed in synch with one another. Each swooped down from opposite sides, firing laser blasts at Viral, who had been watching them curiously the whole time. For the moment, Leo and Moria were forgotten about. Seizing this chance, the ninja turtle searched through his wrist comm until he spotted something that might work.

"Water," Leo read aloud as the word flashed on the holo-screen. "Great, but where am I going to find a source of it up here?"

As though the machine had heard him, a compass arrow appeared, pointing him in the direction toward the transmission tower. There, near the base of the mangled spire of metal, was a spigot. Thanking the gods above for their favor, Leonardo charged forward as the mysterious fliers kept pouring the heat on Viral, aided by Moria now. Turning the spigot on, Leo raised his swords as the liquid gusted out onto the rooftop's surface.

The blades glowed in response. On instinct now, Leo lowered them to the ground cautiously, wondering if this wouldn't end with him getting fried by his own swords. The energy leaped from the blades into the water, causing it to glow.

Leo jerked back, pulling his swords away in the process. The water jumped high into the air, flowing around his body for a moment, before splashing back to the roof's surface harmlessly.

"Okay," he said, feeling confused now. "What was that supposed to do?"

Viral, meanwhile, had recovered from the initial attack on her, and was retaliating now. Moria was giving the fliers a hand, keeping Viral distracted from them by opening up on her with short bursts from her cannon. Each time she opened fire, Viral was forced to turn her attention away and zero in on her. Unfortunately, this new hybrid Mouser she'd constructed for herself with the nanomachines came with extendable arms.

Moria cried out as her leg came close to being shredded by Viral's claws. Viral cackled with sadistic glee, but once more found herself distracted as the fliers overhead opened up on her exposed back with more laser blasts.

Seeing her chance, Moria dove forward through the claws hanging down from the extendable arms. Rolling into a crouch, she brought the cannon up and opened fire near point-blank range just as Viral was turning back around. Moria shut her eyes to protect them some from the flash as the hot plasma exploded through Viral's chest.

"Moria," she heard Leo shouting. "Get clear."

Not needing to know why, Moria backflipped out of the way as Leonardo came rushing toward them. Around him swirled rivulets of water that had taken the shape of a dragon above his head. The turtle's swords were controlling the creature, apparently, and with a single swipe, Leo sent the water dragon away from him.

The wounded Viral screamed as the dragon bore down on her in a rush of water and noise. The wave crashed into her, tearing her mechanical body to pieces. Parts went flying as the water dragon continued to thrash and tear at what remained. Sparks flew as the remaining circuitry fried.

Moria looked up at Leo, her eyes wide as dinner plates. "That didn't shrek at all," she said, impressed. "Care to tell me where you learn that?"

Leo smiled. "I was improvising," he told her. "My brothers and I have gotten real good at that over the years."

Moria's smile quickly faded as the fliers overhead set down behind Leo. "Inuwashi Gunjin," she whispered. "They're Nightrunners on O'Neil Shelltech's payroll."

Leo frowned as he turned. "Who called them?" he wondered, observing the oddly-dressed men in front of him.

"Not me," Moria said quietly, "or anyone else who works here. This is bad."

Leo started to ask how, but Moria stepped away from him before he could speak. "State your purpose in being here," she demanded, standing before the two Gunjin.

One Gunjin saluted her. "I am called Taisei," he said. "My brother and I were sent by O'Neil Shelltech, who had become aware of the situation."

"I see," Moria said, looking shrewdly from him to the one in red, who glared angrily back at her. "And what was O'Neil Shelltech's interest in this?"

"A cyberspace anomaly had taken control of one of Mystech's facilities," the red one fired off. "If the situation had progressed, Neo-Manhattan would have been in danger of being overrun."

"Plus," the one called Taisei quickly interjected. "This transmission tower is among some of the finest on the island. Had that beast gained control of it, O'Neil Shelltech's computer security could have been compromised. Surely you can understand that."

Moria still wasn't smiling. "You both are trespassing," she warned. "As the head of security for this complex, I'm ordering you to vacate at once. Tell your bosses not to jump into the middle of Stock-Chaplain affairs from now on. The situation was well in hand before you showed up."

Neither eagle man seemed particularly bothered by this, though the unnamed red one scowled slightly at Moria's words.

"We will be leaving now," Taisei said, keeping both eyes fixed on Moria as he bowed his head slightly. "Feel free to accept our contact info."

"Not while I'm on the clock," she replied. "Maybe some other time."

"Very well." Taisei gave Leonardo a quick nod of acknowledgment before spreading his wings out. "You fight well, warrior," he told the ninja turtle. "This is my brother Abare, incidentally. I hope we meet again."

The one called Abare stopped scowling as he looked past Moria, nodding as well. Both took to the air together, flying down toward the maze of buildings below.

"This place is full of weird people," Leo said, as Moria walked back over to him.

"Tell me about it," she muttered, clutching her head as though in pain. "Listen, you'd better go downstairs and get your brothers, then leave. This is going to take a while to sort out, and I don't need any distractions."

The change in her attitude caught Leo off-guard. "Um, alright," he said, backing away. "I guess I'd better make sure they're okay."

"Make sure you get Doc Twij to remove those nanomachines from your body," she added, as Leo was walking off. "All that fighting has probably made things worse. Don't worry about covering the cost either. I can work something out with the upper brass this once."

"Thanks," Leo said, before heading for the exit.

"One more thing," Moria said, just as he reached it.

Leo stopped, feeling frustrated. "What?" he asked.

Moria pressed a button on her comm link, causing Leo's to chime. "My contact information," she said. "I just sent it to your wrist comm. Hit me up sometime if you're ever looking for some fun, okay?"

Against his better judgment, Leo smiled. "Thanks," he said. "Maybe we could do something that doesn't include fighting for our lives."

Moria laughed. "But what fun would that be?" she called back.

{} {} {} {} {}

The laboratory was already being repaired when Leo made it back down to Level One. Doc Twij had transferred the others to a separate, smaller facility, and escorted Leo there personally to ensure the nanomachines were removed. The process went smoothly enough, despite being highly uncomfortable. The doc fussed over him endlessly, muttering the whole time about patients not listening to good advice, but in the end, there were no signs of serious damage.

All four turtles were dismissed with a clean bill of health, and orders to take it easy for a couple of days.

"Young people think they can survive anything nowadays," Twij grumbled as they left through the main door.

"Come on, guys," Leo said, while they were being escorted off the grounds by some of Moria's guards. "Let's go home and forget this whole mess ever happened."

"I still can't believe I had to miss all the action," Raph grumbled. "How come we had to stay in the sick bed while you were running around having fun, huh?"

"Um, Leo?" Don spoke up, looking his oldest brother in the face oddly. "What's that on your mouth?"

Leo slowed his pace slightly and brushed a thumb over the spot where Don was pointing. "Yeah, I was wondering about that. It looks like raspberry jam, or maybe marinara sauce."

"It's too thin to be either of those," Don replied dismissively, moving in for a closer look.

"And since when did Leo have time to stop for lunch while taking care of that Viral bitch," Raph added, giving Mikey a smack behind the head. "Not everyone stops in the middle of a fight to have lunch, ya know."

"Hey, that's not fair," Mikey whined. "I've only done that twice, and besides, battling the Foot makes me work up an appetite."

"I'm fine, Don," Leo said, moving away so his brother wouldn't see. "It's nothing. I must've gotten splashed with something while Moria and I were fighting Viral."

"Who's Moria?" Mikey wondered, looking to Raph.

"I think I heard Leo call the chief of security that," Don explained, giving Leo a weird look now. "I didn't know you two knew each other that well."

"Yeah, Leo," Raph said, staring at his brother hard now. "Since when are you on a first-name basis with these guys bosses."

Leo looked away as Raph jerked his head toward the guards surrounding them. "Just keep moving Raph," he insisted, as they reached the unloading doors.

"Don," Leo ordered, once they were outside. "Summon the Hovershell so we can get out of this place."

"Right," Don said, opening his wrist comm.

"I think Leo's got himself a girlfriend," Mikey chimed, grinning from ear to ear now. "While we were lying on our deathbeds, he was out chasing babes."

Raph's eyes narrowed. "Mikey, I am this close to finishing the job that those machines started," he warned, holding a fist up.

"Leo and Moria, sittin' in a tree," Mikey jeered, leaping away as Raph swung at him. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

"Come off it, Mikey," Don said, rolling his eyes as he brought the Hovershell toward them on autopilot. "Leo's not the sort to shirk responsibility when there's a job to be done."

"Yeah," Raph agreed. "Nobody is as straight-laced as Leo."

Leonardo said nothing, keeping his eyes focused on the vehicle as Don brought it down slowly in front of them.

"Sorry Leo," Mikey said, looking apologetic. "I didn't mean to upset you. Come on, I was just having a little fun, bro."

"Your fun has finally gotten on everyone's last nerve," Raph barked.

"Its fine, Mikey," Leo insisted, his face a stoney mask. "I'm fine."

Don kept a concerned watch on Leo as they all piled in. "Maybe I should take a sample of that stuff once we get home," he said, as the Hovershell rose off the ground with them in it. "We don't want you having a bad reaction to anything else in this time period. Who knows what it could do to our mutated structure?"

"I'll be fine," Leo said.

"Leo," Raph spoke up from in back where he and Mikey sat. "This isn't like you. What happened during that fight with Viral?"

"Nothing!" Leo insisted.

All in all, it was a relief when the Hovershell finally pulled into the holding bay beneath the Kame Dojo. Don managed to land the craft without any dings this time.

"I'm really getting better at this," he said happily.

"It's about time," Raph said. "All I wanna do for the rest of the day is sleep. Those little micro-creeps really took it out of me."

"Nanomachines," Don corrected.

"Whatever!"

Upstairs, in the Dojo leisure room, Splinter was still watching his soap operas while sipping on a cup of tea.

"My sons," he said, looking relieved as they entered. "How did it go?"

"Well enough, Master Splinter," Leo said, as the four of them took a seat around him. "There were a few problems, but nothing we couldn't handle."

"I am relieved to hear this," Splinter said, before taking another sip.

"How was your afternoon?" Mikey asked cheerfully. "Are soap operas just as boring as they were a hundred years ago?"

Splinter's ear twitched slightly at Mikey's cheeky retort, yet he smiled over his cup. "It went very well," he said, setting the cup down. "Serling was nice enough to bring me a whole pot of Jilong Red Grass. This herbal tea is famous around the world for cleansing the body of all unnatural elements."

"We could've used some of that earlier," Raph said, eying the kettle on the table in front of the couch.

"No kidding," Mikey agreed.

"How are you feeling, Master?" Leo asked. "Has anything odd happened while we were out?"

"I am fine," Splinter assured him, giving Leo a sharp look. "Why do you ask, my son? And what is that on your face?"

Leo flinched, and began frantically rubbing the side of his mouth. "I thought I got it all," he muttered to himself.

"Something got on his face, Master Splinter," Don explained, watching Leo blush, "but he won't tell any of us how it happened or what that stuff is."

Splinter frowned at this, and narrowed his eyes as Leonardo's face burned even brighter. "Mmm," he muttered, watching his son closely. "Something tells me your afternoon was even more interesting than your brother let on."

Mikey's eyes widened at this. "Leo?" he asked, watching his older brother closely now.

Fear started to grip Leonardo's insides as all three of his brothers, plus his father, zeroed in on the chair where he sat. Thankfully, before any of them could press further, the whole Dojo shook as an explosion echoed through the leisure room.

All of them were thrown out of their seats. "Ow!" Donnie cried out as the kettle splashed it's contents all over his head. "Hot tea!"

"Did I leave a cake in the over while we were out?" Mikey asked, as the Dojo shook again.

"We are under attack, my sons," Splinter said. "Quickly, find Cody and get him to safety before something happens to him."

"Right," Raph said.

Before any of them could move, Serling came staggering into the room. "Oh, it's terrible," he moaned, holding both arms above his head. "The Dojo is under attack."

"Yeah," Raph replied, as another explosion shook the room. "We already figured that part out."

"The security systems have been deactivated somehow," Serling told them. "Otherwise, they would have kicked in. We have to get to Master Cody right away."

"If you would move your big metal butt out of our way," Don grunted, as the four of them forced Serling back out through the door, "we'd be glad to."

Serling staggered as the Dojo rattled, and fell backward back into the hallway, giving the turtles an open space to move through.

"This stinks," Raph declared, as they trampled over Serling's robot body. "We barely survive that Mystech building, and now someone's trying to blow us up in our own home."

"I think it's safe to say at this point that the future doesn't want us here," Don said.

"Focus, guys," Leo told his brothers as they headed for the stairs. "We've got to get to Cody."

Halfway up, the four heard Cody cry out. "Let me go," the young boy shouted, his voice carrying down the steps.

"Cody!" Leo screamed.

A figure swooped down toward the turtles, and Leo recognized the design of the armor the flier was wearing half a second before he was slammed into at high speed. Leo felt his shell collide with his brothers behind them as they were knocked back down the flight of stairs.

"Who?" Don groaned, after they'd rolled to a stop. "What was that?"

Leo got to his feet and activated his Nightrunner armor. "Gunjin," he said. "They're called the Inuwashi Gunjin, and one of them has Cody."

"Target acquired," the gold one with silver wings said as he held the struggling Cody fast in his arms. "Prepare for extraction in twenty seconds."

"No," Splinter cried out.

The rat leaped high in the air, sending a kick to the flying Gunjin's mid-section as he soared passed, and knocking Cody free. Splinter's arms were around the boy before he had time to register the fact that he'd been falling. Gracefully, the mutant rat landed on the carpeted floor.

"Get to safety," Splinter told him. "My sons and I will handle this."

"But I want to help," Cody insisted, as the Gunjin swooped in low for another assault.

"Cody, go!" Splinter implored.

"Come with me, Master Cody," Serling said, appearing behind Cody as the Gunjin fired a blast at Splinter. "This is no place for you."

"Plan B is in effect," the gold leader said, while the turtles switched to Nightrunner mode and moved to attack. "Change extraction locations accordingly. Providing diversionary tactics now."

"Cody is safe," Splinter assured his sons, joining them on the front lines as Michelangelo formed his shield to cover them. "He is with Serling now, but we must get these two out of here."

"You will be going nowhere," the leader said, as the brown Gunjin joined him, hovering in mid-air above where the turtles and Splinter stood. "This altercation is pointless. Our objective is already being realized."

"And what objective is that?" Splinter demanded. "You have invaded our friend and benefactor's home. This outrage will not stand."

"Neither will this dwelling," the brown Gunjin replied.

Raising their arms high, the two Gunjin fired their blasts up toward the ceiling. The turtles gasped as the roof above their heads came crashing down.

"Master Splinter," Leo cried out, reaching out for his father.

"Get close," Mikey shouted as rubble came raining down. "Under my shield."

Mikey raised his spinning nunchaku, bringing the light shield up over their heads seconds before the crumbling roof buried them.

"Mission complete," the gold leader said, surveying the debris for a moment. "Get ready to rendezvous with the others."

"Great," said the brown one, as they took off for the door. "But can we please stop for some Chinese food? I'm starving."


	6. Episode 6  Sundown at O'Neil Shelltech

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Re: Fast Forward

Episode 6

Sundown at O'Neil Shelltech

by That Long-Haired Creepy Guy

_Master Splinter was always trying to teach us that everything in life has a purpose. No matter what, all things in nature have some sort of connection to one another._

_ Since we landed here in the future by accident, me and my brothers have come across half-robot cat creatures, living computer viruses, and freelance cops wielding lightning at our shells. Now, there are these goons that call themselves the Inuwashi Gunjin. I'm guessing they must be Nightrunners in the same gig as us. If that's the case, a part of me wants to go no-hold's bared on these guys. They busted into Cody's house and trashed the joint. That alone calls for some head-busting._

_ Then again, though, something about these guys reminds me of us. I hope it's just my imagination playing tricks on me after I got whacked upside the head. Cuz the last thing this world, or any place in time, needs is another Mikey._

{} {} {} {} {}

Leo grunted. "Is everybody okay?" he called out as his muscles strained against the heavy piece of roof bearing down on him at a slant.

"I think so," he heard Donatello call out dimly. "All present and accounted for. Mikey's light shield did the trick."

"We must hurry," Master Splinter implored as Leo felt the heavy piece of material shift away from him at last. "They have taken Cody. My sons, you must go after them."

Leo grunted, and managed to shove the piece off him. "We will, Master Splinter," he said, as the slab crashed to the floor away from him.

"Man," Mikey groaned as the others stood up. "They have got to start making buildings out of lighter material."

"No kiddin'," Raph agreed begrudgingly. "I felt that one even through that shield of yours."

"Guys, focus," Leo implored, moving over to where they were standing with their sensei. "They've got Cody. Our first priority is to find them, and bring him back."

"Agreed," Splinter said gravely. "Though, I am disturbed by how easily those two were able to enter this place, and how quickly they escaped."

"Master Splinter's right," Don said, looking around at the trashed Kame Dojo thoughtfully. "The Dojo's security systems should've kicked in automatically. The way those guys blew through, you'd think they weren't even on. I think I'll do some checking."

"Make it fast," Leo said sternly. "We've got to move if we want to catch up to the Gunjin before their trail gets cold."

"How is it you even know who these creeps are?" Raph asked, as Don ran over to a nearby holo-console. "Not that I'm mad or anything. It's good somebody around here has some answers, but where did you hear about these guys?"

"They were at the Mystech building," Leo explained quickly. "They were the ones who took out viral after the head of security there helped me take her down. Moria figured someone hired them to cover Virals tracks."

"So someone hires these Gunjin dudes to take out Viral, then kidnap Cody?" Mikey scratched his head in confusion. "I don't get it."

"Nothing new there," Raph replied. "But it is weird."

"They're Nightrunners," Leo said. "They work for whoever will hire them."

"I believe there may be more to it than that," Splinter interjected. "However, it will have to wait until later. There is no telling what they might do to Cody. We must hurry."

"Guys!" Don called out excitedly, waving them over. "Guess what I found."

"I hope it's some answers," Raph grumbled, as he and the others moved over to the holo-console where Don stood.

"It is," Don replied. "But they're not good ones. It looks like the security systems were shut down temporarily. Some kind of sleeper program was uploaded into the matrix earlier this afternoon while we were still at Mystech."

"So that's how they got in," said Leo, narrowing his eyes in anger. "One of them must be as good as you are, Don."

"That's scary," Mikey quipped. "Let's hope they don't have someone like Raph on their team. Ours is bad enough!"

Mikey ducked as Raph swung a hand out to smack him on the back of the head. "Sorry, guys," Don said, shaking his head. "The virus was uploaded into the security system from inside the Dojo."

"What?" Leo's eyes doubled in size. "But that doesn't make any sense."

Splinter mulled this over while the others spoke amongst themselves. "If they could get inside to do that, why trash the place?" Mikey wondered. "Wouldn't it have just been simpler to take Cody then?"

"Could Viral have done it?" Leo asked, looking worried now. "Could she and the Gunjin have been working together all along?"

"Possible," Don admitted, frowning. "But I don't think so. It looks like this virus was made in a hurry. Whoever uploaded it didn't have a lot of time to cover their tracks. Plus, it's not sophisticated enough to be anything of Viral's. Also, if the time of the upload is accurate, she would have been fighting with Leo then."

"There was a lot going on then," Leo said, thinking back to his and Moria's battle on the roof of the Mystech building. His face began to blush as he recalled what happened afterward.

"This mystery is perplexing," Splinter said. "I will stay here and meditate for answers while you four find Cody. His safety is our main priority right now."

"Yes, Master Splinter," Leonardo said, agreeing whole-heartedly. "We will bring him home."

"Freeze!"

All four turtles and Splinter turned at the order. "Don't move!" the woman commanded, as she and at least two dozen other officers wearing a combination of purple and black, with Chinese-style dragons stenciled onto their uniform's surface, aimed weapons at the brothers.

"Ah, you gotta be kidding me!" Raph shouted.

"Drop your weapons and hit the deck," the commander in charge ordered them, keeping her laser weapon pointed at Raphael specifically. "Do it now, or we'll open fire."

Splinter stared out at the small army standing between them and the main exit. "My sons," he said softly. "We must disappear."

"Master, I recognize those logos," Leo whispered back warningly. "Those are the Purple Dragons."

"I remember," Raph said, looking out at the uniformed soldiers with a mixture of disgust and eagerness. "Hard to believe these street scum survived this long."

"I said, do it!" the commander yelled.

"Uh, bros," Mikey hissed none-too-softly. "I think these guys are cops."

"What?!"

"We don't have the time to sort this out," Leo said. "Cody needs us. Once we rescue him, we'll deal with this problem. Don?"

"One cytoplasmic smoke bomb," Don said, dropping a small blue sphere onto the floor. "Courtesy of Madame Tao, and made ready to order."

The turtles and Splinter made ready to vanish as the smoke bomb detonated, filling the air around them with a thick, blue cloud. Before any of them could move very far, though, energy nets from above came crashing down.

Leo managed to glimpse three figures watching through the roof in the ceiling high overhead. "They're on the roof," he warned his brothers, even as they were caught.

"Thanks for the warning, Leo," Raph barked back as he struggled to slice through his net with his laser sais.

"We've got them," they heard the commander's voice say over comm link as the nets began constricting around them. "Lieutenant Agent Ceraph confirms capture. We're bringing them in for questioning now."

"Hold on, guys," Don said hopefully as a strange tool decompressed off the gauntlet on his arm. "My Omnitool should work against these."

"Don't even thing about it," Lieutenant Ceraph warned, aiming her laser at Don's head.

Mikey was ready for her, however. "Eat this, lady!" he cried out, sending a blast of yellow electricity out through a hole in the net with the ends of his nunchacku.

The Lieutenant managed to dodge while her men moved in to secure the situation, but the distraction was all Donatello needed.

"There," he shouted, as the net snapped, freeing both him and Mikey.

"Donatello," Splinter ordered. "Take Michelangelo and find Cody."

"Shoot them," Lieutenant Ceraph ordered. "Set your weapons to high stun mode."

"Go," Leo called out as Mikey and Don formed shields out of their weapons to divert the laser fire. "We'll be fine."

"We can't leave you here like this," Don protested.

"We will handle things here," Splinter assured Donatello as he and Mikey were forced back by the overwhelming amount of superior fire.

Don diverted multiple blasts with his energy bo while Mikey hurled lightning into the air. The Purple Dragon Corps kept coming, however.

"Come on," Don finally said in defeat. "Up the stairs."

"We'll be back, bros," Mikey swore, before following after Don. "Stay frosty, Master Splinter."

"Pursue them," Ceraph ordered several of her men, who took off after the two while she and her men closed in on the rest still trapped under the constricting energy nets.

Raph frowned as the woman's eyes lingered on him for a long moment. "What are you looking at, lady?" he growled.

"Stun them," she ordered one of the men next to her. "All but that one. Make sure he gets put in a private cell once we get back to Purple Dragon Corps HQ."

A roar escaped from Raph's mouth as Splinter and Leonardo were stunned into silence just a few inches from him.

"What kinda messed up future is this?" he asked himself for the umpteenth time. "The longer we stay here, the most fucked up everything is. Now the Purple Dragons are supposed to be cops?"

"What bedrock slab did you fall off of?" Ceraph wondered, laughing. "Bring them."

Raph struggled as best he could while the Purple Dragon Corps lifted Splinter and Leonardo up. The nets made it impossible to move more than his big toe, however.

"When I get out of this," he warned, his voice dripping with fury. "I'm gonna use your spines for punching bags."

"I look forward to it," one officer said in a refined voice.

Raph continued to struggle as the sound of gunfire and explosions echoed off in the distance. From the sound of things, Donatello and Michelangelo were giving the Purple Dragons a run for their money. Raph hoped his brothers knocked a few heads around for him as he was dragged out into the daylight.

{} {} {} {} {}

"Haul it, Mikey, before these guys give us a shock to the shell!"

"You try hauling it after spending the whole day flushing nano-robots out of your system," Mikey cut back, running forward after Don with his head low to avoid the laser fire. "It stings, just so you know."

Don spun his staff, sending out a shock wave that cleared their path up to the roof where the exit, a gaping hole in the side of the Dojo that the Gunjin had undoubtedly left, lay open.

"That was a little more information than I needed," Don quipped, scanning the parameter to make sure the coast was clear.

"We're good to go," he said at last, giving Mikey a nod. "Let's move."

"Donnie, we can't leave," Mikey said, stopping his brother before he could take two steps. "What about Master Splinter and the others?"

"What about Cody, though?" Don asked pointedly, to which Mikey responded by giving Don a pained expression.

"Mikey," Don began, clasping his brother on the shoulder. "I don't like it any more than you do, but Master Splinter has a point. Getting Cody back is the only way to prove to those Purple Dragons that we're not responsible. If they really are the cops..."

Don had to pause for a second to process what had just come out of his mouth. "...then," he tried, still struggling. "The only course of action is to bring Cody back so he can vouch for us. Remember, we're technically not supposed to be here."

Before Mikey could reply, more laser fire opened up from behind. "We can discuss it more later," Don said quickly, ushering Mikey toward the hole in the wall. "For right now, jump."

"I'm with you," Mikey said, breaking into a sprint ahead of Donnie, and jumping out into the open air. "Hey, wait a second. Where's the ground?"

"There is no ground," Don told him, falling down alongside. "The Kame Dojo is located on top of a two-hundred and thirty-six story skyscraper, remember?"

Mikey's eyes bulged out as he saw just how far away the ground was, and coming in closer by the second.

"Must have slipped my _mind_!" the yellow bandana-wearing turtle screamed.

"Stay calm," Don instructed, pressing a button on his wrist comm. "I've got everything covered, I hope."

"You hope?" Mikey screamed as the wind whipped past. "You hope!"

"Come on, Hovershell," Don whispered as they continued their descent. "Where are you?"

"Donnie, if you've got a plan, now would be a good time to initiate it."

"Don't rush me," Don scolded, masking his own fear. "This is delicate work."

"Falling over two-hundred stories into solid ground isn't delicate work," Michelangelo pointed out, as the ground came closer still. "Snap it up already."

Don's worried face broke into a grin as the holo-screen on his wrist comm switched over to tracking mode, indicating the Hovershell was coming up on their shifting position from around the perpendicular side of the building.

"Keep your body loose," Don told Mikey as he punched in further instructions for the Hovershell's on-board computer. "I have to calculate this perfectly so we don't end up painting the inside of the Hovershell's walls with our insides."

"Not instilling a lot of confidence in me."

The Hovershell zoomed around the corner of O'Neil Shelltech, swooping low as it came up on Don and Mikey's position. The hovercraft dove down below them, popping the hatch on its roof, and matching their descent per Donatello's instructions. Before Mikey could collect his breath and let out another blood-curling scream, Don hit a switch on his wrist comm, and the Hovershell scooped them up out of the air.

Don and Mikey each let out a painful grunt as the hatch above them snapped shut. Already pre-programmed with instructions from Don, the Hovershell gunned its engines, flying off toward the Neo-Manhattan skyline.

"That was close," Don admitted, getting to his feet first. "Luckily, I planned everything out accordingly."

"Even the part where I ended up on the bottom?" Mikey groaned, pushing himself up onto all fours. "Why am I always the one on the bottom, anyway?"

"It's not like you had Raph and Leo's weight to contend with," Don said, heading for the pilot seat. "Now that we're away from the O'Neil Shelltech building, it should be easy enough to track the Inuwashi Gunjin."

"Great," Mikey mumbled lowly, holding on to the back of the passenger seat as Don took control of the hovercraft. "How are we supposed to do that?"

"I..." Don fell silent abruptly. "I haven't quite figured that out yet."

Mikey gave Don a look. "We could start by checking the Nightrunner page," Don offered, bringing the holo-screen up to search for them. "That Verminator-X was listed there, so the Gunjin might be, as well."

"Cool. Can you make a page for us?"

Don rolled his eyes as the computer began sweeping through the list of Nightrunners available online. "I don't think advertising that we're illegal citizens living in Neo-Manhattan in full view of the law is such a good idea."

"Why not?" Mikey asked, pointedly. "Everyone else is doing it."

Don froze at the logic behind this statement. "We'll discuss this later," he grumbled, feeling a headache coming on.

The computer let out a beep, indicating that it had found the Inuwashi Gunjin's homepage. "This is their page," Don said, showing Mikey the profile where all four Gunjin were shown. "Huh, that's weird. These guys are tagged with a blue shield."

"Awesome." Mikey frowned. "What's that mean?"

"It means they operate under a strict code of ethics," Don explained, bringing up the detailed specs with a few keystrokes. "Certain Nightrunners will refuse to accept a job if it violates their personal morals or job guidelines. Black shields will do any dirty job as long as it pays well. Red is just below black, still ruthless and willing to work for the right price, but things like assassinations are out. Yellow is below red, meaning the Nightrunner might be willing to negotiate. Blue, however, doesn't compromise under any circumstances."

"What sort of messed up ethics do these Gunjin have?" Mikey wondered to himself. "How can you justify kidnapping such a great kid like Cody?"

"No idea," Don said, looking over the page again. "It doesn't say, but at least now we know who we're up against. Furthermore, I have an idea now of how we can get Cody back."

"It doesn't involve us being in free fall again anytime soon, does it?"

"Nope," Don replied. "This plan is brilliant in its simplicity. We'll give the Gunjin a call, and see if they pick up the phone."

"Excellent," Mikey cried out as the Hovershell rocked sideways. "Wait, how many minutes have we got left?"

"Mikey..."

{} {} {} {} {}

"Let me outta here!"

Raph's voice clambered off the walls of his private cell. "I'm gonna enjoy punching each and every one of you Purple Dragon scum into next year because of this," he screamed, keeping a safe distance from the bars, as they were lasers. "Where's my father and brother?"

"Safe."

The voice was calm, but crisp, cutting through Raph's tantrum like a knife. "For now," Lieutenant Ceraph added as she strode almost casually down the narrow corridor in front of his cell.

"Their status depends on the answers you give me."

"Lady, I've got nothing to say to you," Raph growled, noting that the woman looked vaguely familiar somehow. "I want nothing to do with Purple Dragons."

"I see," she said thoughtfully. "Then perhaps, you aren't who I thought you were. If so, you will be charged with kidnapping, fraud, and possible extortion."

"That's crazy," Raph said, struggling to maintain some semblance of his temper. It went against his nature, but if he wanted out to help his brothers and find Cody, that meant trying to be diplomatic.

Where was Leo when he really needed the guy?

"Look," Raph tried. "My brothers and I had nothing to do with what happened at the Kame Dojo. We were guests of Cody... er, I mean, Cody O'Neil-Jones."

Lieutenant Ceraph cocked an eyebrow at this. "Really?"

"You could say we're old friends of the family," Raph mused. "Anyway, the Dojo was attacked by these Nightrunners called Inuwashi Gunjin. They're the ones you want."

"I sincerely doubt that," Ceraph replied cryptically. "Tell me, what is your name?"

"What's it to ya?" he wondered aloud, regretting it automatically.

"Hmm," she said thoughtfully, looking him up and down. "It wouldn't happen to be Hamato Raphael, would it?"

Raph felt his whole body stiffen. "What did you say?" he demanded quietly, getting as close to the bars as he could. "How do..."

A smile spread over Ceraph's face. Raphael watched as the lieutenant moved toward the control panel for his cell. Pressing her palm to the scanner, she let the machine register her identification, before ordering it to shut down.

The bars in front of Raph dematerialized. Raph stepped back slightly as Ceraph stepped into the cell with him. Her eyes were a mystery, and he felt his blood pound as she stared down slightly into his face.

When they were about a foot apart from one another, Ceraph dropped down to her knees in front of him.

"It is you," she whispered quietly, her voice shaking now. "I wasn't sure at first. She always insisted the stories were true, but I didn't think I might..."

Raph's face went slack. "What the?" he wondered, staring down at the shaking woman. "Did I miss something?"

"It is you," Ceraph repeated, staring up at Raphael now with tears streaming down her face. "You've come, just like the old stories said."

"Okay," Raph told himself, trying to stay calm for different reasons. "I've definitely missed something. Can we go back a couple of steps?"

"Hamato Raphael," Ceraph said, grasping both of his hands together and kissing them reverently. "The tales said that you and your family fell through a gate in time. There was no mention of when you landed, only that it was sometime after the Shredder Wars."

Ceraph jumped up off the floor, releasing him in the process, before Raph could ask what she meant.

"Forgive me," she said, almost pleadingly. "I had to be sure first. I know a place where we should be able to speak in private. Come with me!"

Reluctantly, Raph let himself be led around, mostly because he couldn't think of any other way to find out what was going on. When they reached the door, Ceraph pulled out a pair of futuristic handcuffs.

"It is the only way," she said apologetically, cuffing Raph's hands in front of him. "The other officers will be suspicious if you're seen walking around unrestrained."

Against his better judgment, Raph complied. Once they were out of the holding area, Ceraph led him along through one of the main office areas toward a set of rooms that were set off to the side. Raph noticed as they walked that all eyes seemed to be on him. None of the looks were the least bit flattering. Several of the Purple Dragon members were stroking their laser pistols, as though aching to fire at him. Raph shot each of them a glare, and struggled slightly for show just to be on the safe side.

Ceraph took the cue, and grasped him more tightly.

"The prisoner has hinted that he might be willing to confess to his crimes," she told a woman who appeared via holoscreen on a wall suddenly. "I request access to a private room for interrogation."

"Granted," the woman replied, before depressing a button. "Room 4-Alpha is empty. Shall I summon the court stenographer?"

"Not yet," Ceraph said, though she kept her voice even. "I'm not sure his information is valid. I'd like a moment to confirm before bringing the stenographer down."

"As you wish," the lady on the holo-screen said, as if bored now.

Ceraph led Raphael around a corner to a door marked with the number four, and the Greek leter for Alpha. Once inside, she immediately removed his handcuffs.

"This is a private area for interrogating high-profile criminals guilty of corporate crimes," she told him as he rubbed his wrists. "It's supposed to be free of all surveillance."

Ceraph gestured to a table with chairs. "We can't stay long," she told him as he sat down across from her. "I can get you and your family out, but unless evidence of the Gunjin's involvement comes to light, there will be no way of proving you aren't guilty of kidnapping the O'Neil-Jones heir. The brass are already contemplating having you executed."

"Executed? For kidnapping?"

Ceraph gave him a grave look. "The Purple Dragon Corps are funded by O'Neil Shelltech. Master Cody is the only surviving member of the family. Kidnapping him is tantamount to high treason."

Raph fell silent for a moment. "I still can't get past it," he said softly. "This future is crazy. Both the Foot and the Purple Dragons are cops now?"

Ceraph nodded. "Ever since the war ended."

"What war?" Raph wondered. "About that, by the way. How can you possibly know who I am?"

"My family were once aquaintances of yours," she said, locking eyes with him. "I am the granddaughter of Raphaella, whose mother was Angel."

Raph's eyes doubled in size. "You're Angel's great-granddaughter?"

"Yes," she said. "Each generation of my family has at least one member that shares your name in some way."

"How come?"

Ceraph looked away, clearly unsure of how to answer. "Because of what you did," she tried vaguely. "Because of what you will do, rather. My great-grandmother told her daughter and granddaughter stories about you. Those stories were then told to me, of how you would travel through time into the future. I never expected..."

Ceraph began crying unexpectedly again. "Forgive me," she said, brushing her tears away quickly. "There is so much I want to say, but we don't have time."

"Listen," Raphael said, reaching across the table. "Can you help me get my brother and sensei out of here?"

Ceraph nodded again. "People here assume that, because you resemble the stories of our founders, you must be some kind of heretical impostor. I'll put you back in the cell with your rat father and brother for now. Be prepared for when I come and get you. We won't get a second chance."

"Make it fast," Raph told her. "We've still gotta find Cody."

"Every Purple Dragon officer on the island is out searching for him," she said. "It has become top-priority to bring him back alive. Right now, he is the only one who can clear your names, but I suspect whoever took him may be keeping him hidden until your executions are confirmed."

Raph frowned as Ceraph motioned for him to stand so she could clasp the restraints back on him. "What makes you think that?" he asked, as she shuffled him toward the door.

Ceraph paused. "The alarms didn't sound right away," she explained. "If anyone were foolish enough to attack the Kame Dojo, the security would have kicked in automatically, and every Purple Dragon available would have arrived on the scene in seconds. We were not informed until after the fact, so something else is going on. Since you are here, someone may be trying to get you out of the way."

"Oh," Raph said, suddenly not very worried at all. "That's normal for us, but it does make me wonder about a couple of things that's happened since we landed here."

"Hamato Raphael," Ceraph said, her finger lingering above the release button for the door. "It is imperative that you and your brothers stay alive. Our future depends on it."

"Don't worry," he told her. "My brothers and I are hard to kill."

{} {} {} {} {}

"I concur."

Darius Dun grinned as he looked over the Time Window. "A work of art, indeed," he said, speaking to the technician standing next to him. "That Cody is far cleverer than I ever imagined."

Abruptly, Dun scowled. "And far too dangerous to continue running wild."

"We've been examining it," the technician said, scrolling through the computerized notebook in his hand. "Nothing so far suggests that the machine teleports solid mass on a quantum scale. However, the machine does appear to have been damaged over the last several months."

"Continue," Dun instructed, still musing over the device standing over them both.

"There was some data stored in the machine's internalized computer," the technician said, double-checking his notes. "We're still decrypting it, but it looks like the event that brought the terrapins here was some sort of anomaly."

"Then you're sure?" Darius pressed, turning away from the Time Window to stare down at the older man. "The terrapins are time travelers."

"Accidental time travelers," the man said pointedly. "But yes, it looks that way, sir."

Darius thought this over for a moment. "Could the anomaly be recreated?" he asked at last, while several of the technician's assistants came forward to begin assessing the Window's parts.

"Possible," the technician replied at once. "It looks as though the young O'Neil-Jones heir was attempting to do just that. We're not sure how successful he's been, but considering the terrapins are still around, it should be safe to assume he hadn't achieved that objective yet."

"Still," Darius said thoughtfully, once the man went quiet. "Even without successful time travel, this device is revolutionary."

"We're beginning a detailed analysis of the Window's components now," the tech said as his assistants busied themselves noisily. "Once this is completed, we can try to construct one of our own. Maybe even make improvements on the design of the original."

"Good," Dun said. "I want total security blackout on this. No one outside of this room is to so much as breath a word of this project. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," the technician replied. "It will mean moving at a much slower pace, but full security won't be an issue."

"I'm sure it won't be," Dun said, before turning his back to the Time Window.

The express employee elevator was already waiting for him when Dun reached the far wall where it was located.

"72nd floor," he instructed via voice command.

Dun let out a long groan as the doors slammed shut. "The only real issue with this whole plan is that I have to wait even longer for the repercussions from bringing in the Gunjin to blow over."

Pressing a button on his cane, Darius waited as a holo-screen materialized in front of him. "Computer," he commanded. "Get me the robotics repair crew on Level 192, Section G."

"One moment," the computer's female voice said. "Accessing. Contact established. You may begin speaking now."

"Dr. Koffka?" he called out over what sounded like an awful lot of painful screaming.

The sound of metal grinding against metal subsided, and a squat woman with florescent fuchsia hair appeared in front of him on the screen.

"Da?" she asked.

"How is the 'patient'?" Darius asked crisply, suppressing a smile. "Are the modifications proceeding according to schedule?"

"Yes, sir," Kafka replied, nodding sharply. "We should have the subject read as per your specifications within the hour. If not... maybe another twenty minutes or so."

"Back to work, then," he ordered, as the elevator came to a stop. "Send the subject down to Level 72 once the procedure is complete, and don't forget to purge its memory of what occurred in the last several hours."

"Already on the list," Kafka assured him. "Over and out!"

The room Darius was looking for was located on the far western end of the building. It took him several minutes to arrive. Fortunately, Cody O'Neil-Jones had nothing to do but wait for him.

Any other time, Dun might have taken his time getting there, but time was something he couldn't afford to waste, even with a potential time machine in his possession.

"Computer," he instructed. "Open door to private executive chamber number thirteen."

"Voice pattern recognition," the computer said back at him. "Scan for height, mass, and cellular density indicates acting CEO Darius Dun. Access granted."

Darius put on his best tender smile as he stepped into the room as the door slid into the wall. Young Cody was sitting in a chair with his back to the door, staring out the window. The sight was enough to make Dun's skin crawl.

He hated the boy more than anything else in the world.

"Cody," Darius began, getting the child's attention.

Cody didn't move. Darius moved in closer, and realized as the boy's slow breathing became audible that his nephew was sleeping.

Darius scoffed. "Foolish," he decried, looking the boy over. "Never let your guard down for a moment. Your mother should have learned that years ago."

Cody stirred, and Darius went still. As it turned out, Dun shouldn't have concerned himself. All the youth did was turn away from him slightly while sleeping.

"It would have come to this at some point anyway," he said softly, placing a hand on the back of the chair. "You've brought me no small measure of trouble, but the payoff was more than worth it. I still can't believe you invented a time machine."

Cody's breathing slowed somewhat.

"This could revolutionize the corporate espionage racket," he thought aloud to himself. "I could know what my enemies are planning before they do, and make adjustments accordingly. And if it turns out the Time Window can actually move people through the timestream, the possibilities are quite literally endless."

Darius smiled to himself at the thought. "I suppose keeping you alive for a little longer isn't such a hardship," he said, looking back down at Cody again. "After all, if that prattling little brain of yours can come up with something like that, who knows what else it'll invent."

Backing away, Darius pressed a button on his cane, opening another holo-screen. "Computer, connect me with the Inuwashi Gunjin," he ordered.

In seconds, the computer had made contact. "Shuryo," he said, when the gold-faced Gunjin appeared. "Are your men in position?"

"Hai, Dun-sama," Shuryo addressed.

"Then be ready to rendezvous in ten to receive the parcel. Once the mark is secure, you and your men will receive full citizenship as O'Neil Shelltech personnel."

"Arigato," Shuryo replied, bowing. "On behalf of my men, allow me to express my humble gratitude."

"Save it," Darius said coolly. "Gratitude doesn't spend nearly as well as it used to. Once our 'parcel' is safe and secure at the designated area, the entire city will hail you and your brothers as heroes."

"Dun-sama," Shuryo began, interrupting Darius. "About the four terrapins. We received a challenge from them."

Darius's frown shifted his whole face. "How is that possible?" he wondered. "They're locked up at Purple Dragon headquarters."

"Hai," Shuryo affirmed. "But we received word earlier that two escaped capture. Also, the remaining two terrapins and the rat managed to escape somehow."

"What?"

Darius's shout caused his nephew to leap up from the chair. Cody had enough time to register where he was before Darius pointed the bottom tip of his cane into the boy's face. A noxious yellow gas caught young Cody right in the face, knocking him out cold.

"That should teach you to mind your own business," Darius muttered ruefully at the boy, while Shuryo watched via the holo-screen.

"Why am I just now finding out about this?" he demanded, after confirming that Cody was passed out completely.

"We don't know," Shuryo said calmly. "But the four terrapins wish to meet with us on the roof of the adjoining O'Neil Shelltech building at sunset."

"Really?" The grin on Darius's face spread until it stretched his features. "That's perfect."

"Hai?"

"Send a reply to the four turtles," Darius told him. "Inform them that you'll be happy to accommodate. When they arrive, keep them busy until the Purple Dragon Corps arrive. I will make sure they are informed that the Gunjin are the ones who rescued young Cody, and have been fighting his kidnappers to a stand-still."

"Wakata," Shuryo said, bowing as the screen vanished.

The door behind Darius flung open automatically. Darius whirled around as Serling burst in, sweeping the room wildly with his optic sensors.

"Oh, Master Cody!" he cried out frantically. "There you are! I was so..."

"Protocol Alpha," Darius interjected firmly, shutting the android down in mid-step.

Serling stared blankly across the room as Darius paced around him like a shark. "I've had to use that too often lately," he said to himself. "Too many unforeseen complications keep arising. Hopefully, this will take care of some of that."

Stopping in his tracks, Darius stood behind Serling's still form and leaned in forward. "You will take Master Cody across to the roof of the adjoining skyscraper, and turn him over to the leader of the Gunjin. After the four turtles arrive, lead him away to someplace safe. As far as the world is concerned, the turtles are illegal offworlders who kidnapped the sole heir to the O'Neil-Jones fortune. Is that clear?"

"Reprogramming complete," Serling said in a distant, monotone voice. "Objective noted."

"Good," said Darius. "Then take the boy and get out. Make certain no one sees you going up to the roof. Once the boy is in the Gunjin's hands, go into standby mode, and delete everything from your memory banks that occurred in the last two hours."

"Acknowledged."

Serling's movements were lanky as he marched over to the chair, and gathered Cody up in his metallic arms.

"I will never understand that sister of mine," Darius said quietly as the android lumbered out through the door haphazardly. "Commissioning a robot to serve as her parental proxy. Even in death, her logic eludes me."

{} {} {} {} {}

Leo's eyes narrowed as the sound of footsteps approached from around the corner of the hall. Opposite them was a water cooler, which bubbled as the steps drew in closer. His mind racing, the ninja turtle leaped out in front of the Purple Dragon officer just before they could complete the sharp turn. His enhanced ninjaken sliced through the protective seal holding the water in as the officer reached for his gun. Before he could fire, Leo's swords had summoned the water out around the blades in a spiral. One quick slice knocked the Purple Dragon Corp member off his feet, flinging him back down the hallway where he'd come from.

Master Splinter and Raphael emerged from around the corner as Leo put his swords away. "We need to keep moving," he said, motioning them forward. "Come on."

"I gotta say," Raph declared as he and Splinter raced behind Leo side-by-side. "I may not think too much of the future so far, but I'm really starting to dig this Nightrunner gear."

"Stay focused, Raph," Leo insisted as they turned another corner. "We're almost there. According to the directions that Ceraph lady gave you, the exit is on this floor, just a little bit further."

"If only there had been some way to contact your brothers first," said Splinter, worried. "I hope they have at least found Cody by now."

"Ceraph said any unauthorized transmissions inside the building would give away our location," Raph reminded. "It's a good thing she got us outta that cell. Those space jockeys were starting to creep me out."

Up ahead, the turtles and Splinter saw the exit that was marked on their vid screens. A plain, nondescript set of double doors were set against a brown wall. It almost looked out-of-place against some of the more technologically advanced things they'd run across.

"We made it," Leo said, after a sigh of relief.

"Ceraph said she would create a blank spot in the sensor grid for four seconds," Raph told them, taking point. "Any longer than that, and the computer register it as an anomaly. We've got less than a minute before our trigger kicks in."

"Then let us make haste," Splinter said, as he and Leo stood on each side of Raphael. "Be ready, my sons."

"Always, Master."

"Right," Raphael agreed, squeezing his hands into fists. "Once we get outta here, I'm going to enjoy clipping those Gunjin's wings. For Cody."

As the counter on their screens counted down to zero, all three prepared to jump. Splinter came flying through the doors first, followed quickly by Leo and Raph. The doors swung back shut as their four seconds ran out. The three barely had time to rise up before something swooped in low overhead, blocking out the sun.

"You gotta be kiddin' me!" Raph shouted up at the sky, as the hovercraft moved in closer. "We can't even take five steps from this building before they find us?"

The craft shifted slightly, revealing the green paint job and exterior shell design. "My son," Splinter said happily. "I believe fortune has smiled in our favor for once."

"Let's not waste time, then," Leo said, as the hatch opened. "After you, Master."

Splinter leaped on board first, then moved aside so that both his older sons could climb aboard. Turning around, all three received a shock.

Mikey was at the controls.

"Hey guys!" Mikey called out. "Guess what? Donnie let me drive."

Don turned around from his spot in the passenger seat and smiled sheepishly. "I had to let him take the controls so I could check our messages," he explained apologetically. "Believe it or not, we haven't crashed once so far."

"What could possibly be so drastic that you'd let Mikey drive?" Raph asked, strapping himself into his seat and holding on for dear life.

"I'm setting up our new Nightrunners account," Don explained, as the craft began rising back into the air. "I sent a message to the Gunjin, and thought we ought to look official. Once our page went public, they responded."

Leo stared across the Hovershell at Don. "You called the Gunjin, and they picked up the phone?" he asked, mystified.

"Basically," said Don, shrugging. "Apparently, no matter how far into the future you go, message boards are still a big deal."

"Hold on to your shells, turtles," Mikey announced, wearing a big grin as he shifted the Hovershell's gears. "We just got our first official challenge as Nightrunners of the future. I'd say this situation calls for a grand entrance."

"Don!" Leo shouted as the Hovershell rocketed off through the air. "Explain, please, and hurry!"

"Before I lose my lunch!" Raph added. "And I thought Donnie's driving was bad."

In mere moments, the smaller O'Neil Shelltech building was within sight. "I sent a message issuing a challenge to the Inuwashi Gunjin," Don explained quickly as they flew in closer to their target. "Nightrunners have this whole online society. You can chat with one another, or issue challenges for superiority. It seemed like the best way to get Cody back given the circumstances."

"That," Mikey said, turning sharply to the side to avoid hitting a large freight craft, "and it sounded cool."

"Bring 'em on," Raph gloated. "Once we get outta this crate, I'll be happy to bust every last one of their heads."

"Assuming our internal organs haven't been rearranged," Splinter muttered.

Mikey brought the Hovershell around in a flank. Down below, standing on the edge of the O'Neil skyscraper, were the Inuwashi Gunjin.

"Get into position guys," Leo commanded, as Don took the controls from Mikey to begin the Hovershell's autopilot landing sequence.

One by one, the turtles and Splinter launched themselves out the hatch. The Gunjin, in turn, whirled around one after the other as their opponents landed behind them on the roof's surface.

"Where is Cody?" Leonardo shouted above the roar of the Hovershell's engines.

"We can do this two ways," Raph said. "I'd prefer the hard way, but if you give Cody back to us, we won't make this too painful for you."

The Gunjin leader, Shuryo, crouched down. "Brothers," he said, to which they responded by doing the same. "Position Apple Zeitgeist."

One after another, the Gunjin took flight. The turtles readied themselves for an attack, only to duck and dodge for cover as the Gunjin swooped in low in criss-crossing sequences. Laser fire rained down from above as the brothers were forced to scatter. Splinter rolled into a crouch and rose up as his sons struggled to keep out of the range of fire.

"My sons," he called out.

"Regroup guys," Leo ordered, using his swords to deflect the blasts.

"We haven't got time for this," Raph barked, raising his arms.

Flames exploded from his arms, roaring with the same fury masking his face. Pushing off the ground, Raph leaped high into the air, bringing his foot down into the face of an unsuspecting, low-flying Gunjin. The blue-and-black sky warrior was sent flying as Raph delivered a punch to his face next. Flames rained down all around from the blow, stunning the bird man.

"I think we should take a page from Raph's book," Don said, joining Leo.

"Good thinking, Don," Leo said, as his brother helped him deflect more blasts. "These guys are too well-organized, and they've got us on the defensive. Break up their flight pattern, and keep them on the move."

"A bold decision," Splinter said. "But the best way to deal with a prepared opponent is to do the unexpected."

Spotting a water spigot, Leo cut a back flip and brought his swords around, slicing through the metal cleanly. Water sprayed out from the wound, covering the surface of the roof. The blue armored turtle swept it up with another sweep of his sword as Donatello disrupted two Gunjin's flight pattern with scattered fire from his staff.

Getting a boost from Michelangelo, Splinter flew through the air, landing on another's back. Before the eagle soldier had time to recover, the rat sensei's foot connected with the side of his skull, bringing him down. Splinter dismounted before the metal bird man crashed, kicking the one Raph had knocked out of the air earlier in the back.

Mikey, meanwhile, was providing cover for Donatello between electrical shock blasts. "These guys are good," he said over his shoulder to Don. "I wonder if they'd be up for a game of Helix later."

"I doubt gaming is their style," Don retorted, as the yellow Gunjin swooped down low.

"On the contrary," he said, opening fire. "We are experts at Helix."

Don fired directly into the Gunjin's chest, knocking him down. "Then again," he said at the smirk on Mikey's face. "What do I know?"

Raph joined Leo as his brother was forming a large Chinese dragon from the water leak. Raph's flame gauntlets burned, reacting with his older brother's presence. Their two respective elements joined, spiraling around one another. Raph's became a screeching firebird.

"I have no idea how that happened," Leo stated, glancing at Raph. "You?"

"Not a clue," he said. "Let's not waste it, though. On three?"

"Agreed. Three!"

Both brought their arms down, sending the cascade of fire and water into the grounded Inuwashi Gunjin. The three warriors looked up just in time to see the attack, but were far too late to stop it. The remaining turtles and Splinter scattered, leaving the Gunjin to crash helplessly through the roof into the floor below.

"Brothers!"

Shuryo, the last remaining Gunjin, dove toward the roof as his family disappeared from sight.

"I got this one," Mikey insisted. "Time for me to see what these nunchaku can really do."

Mikey spun his chucks, grinning broadly as energy began circling through them. "Lightning Dragon Attack!" he screamed in the face of the rapidly-approaching Gunjin leader. "Go!"

"Nani?" the Gunjin demanded, perplexed.

Michelangelo's body glowed a fierce golden color. A brilliant yellow dragon made of pure energy materialized above him, roaring and crackling. With a gesture, Mikey sent the beast out to meet the Gunjin head-on. Shuryo howled in shock as the manifestation of elemental fury bore down on him. There was no time for him to move.

The dragon, however, raced right past him.

"Um," Mikey said sheepishly as Splinter glared. "Oh, well."

"Your doom is upon you," Shuryo declared, reaching out for Mikey's throat. "Face the unstoppable wrath of..."

Michelangelo brought his foot up, kicking the Gunjin in the face, and knocking him backward in an arch through the hole where his brothers had disappeared.

"Tried and true works best anyway," he said.

"I just have one question," Donatello said as he walked up behind Mikey. "'Lightning Dragon Attack, go'?"

"Well," Mikey attempted. "You should try coming up with the names of attacks on the fly like that."

"Forget about that," Raph said. "We still don't know where Cody is."

"He's right here."

The turtles and Splinter turned to see Serling coming out from behind a shed with Cody in tow, looking as though he'd just woken up from a nap.

"Hey, guys," Cody side, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

"Cody!"

"Are you alright?" Don asked.

Before he could approach, Serling snatched Cody away out of his reach. "Don't the four of you come anywhere near him," he barked furiously. "This is all your fault. You illegal offworlders have done enough damage."

Cody frowned. "Serling," he said, looking worriedly up at the android. "What's wrong with you? The turtles aren't offworlders."

Serling's metallic body went rigid. "Yeah, and we had nothing to do with this mess," Raph added angrily. "It was those Gunjin bozos."

"We were trying to help," Don added, looking Cody over. "Speaking of which, are you okay, Cody?"

Cody yawned. "They must have drugged me with something," he replied meekly. "I don't remember anything after the Dojo was attacked. Sorry I caused so much trouble."

"We're just glad you're alright," Leo said.

"Yeah," Raph threw in. "Unlike buckethead over here."

At the word 'buckethead' Serling seemed to snap out of it. "Oh dear," he gasped. "It would appear there's some kind of glitch in my programming. It must have happened when I was pushed into a wall by the four of you."

"I can run a diagnostic when we get home," Cody said, giving Serling a reassuring pat.

"Then let us be off," Splinter said.

"I hope you don't mind the mess," Raph said. "We didn't get a chance to clean up after those Gunjin bailed."

"Also," Don added. "You may have to explain some things to the Purple Dragon Corp. They thought we had something to do with you going missing."

"No problem," Cody said. "I'm just glad you guys are alright."

"Now that I think about it," Mikey said, stopping dead in his tracks. "Shouldn't those Gunjin fellows have come out of that hole yet?"

Everyone, including Serling and Cody, turned to where Mikey was pointing. "More of your handiwork, I assume?" Serling said disdainfully. "Poor Master Cody will end up penniless and on the street if this keeps up."

"The building is insured," Cody said dismissively. "It's no problem. Besides, you guys were the ones who rescued me."

"And I suppose I simply stood by?" Serling asked, offended, as Mikey slipped off toward the hole in the roof.

The others escorted Cody toward the Hovershell. Raphael, upon realizing Mikey had slipped off, looked back over his shoulder.

"Mikey, we're leaving!" he shouted, as Mikey crouched down at the hole's edge.

"I just wanna make sure those guys are okay," Mikey said, waving back at Raph over his shouting. "It'll only take a second."

Mikey's feet landed softly on the floor. The interior below the roof was cool and dark. Only the light from the setting sun illuminated the area. The streams from the opening overhead cast shadows in all directions.

"Cool," he said, glancing around curiously at the various machinery in the room. "This looks like some kind of secret lab. I bet Cody's tech crew whips up all sorts of wicked stuff in here."

A shuffling far off in a corner startled the ninja turtle. "Stay cool, Michelangelo," he instructed to himself. "Hey, Inuwashi Gunjin. Come out now. Fight's over!"

Something moved, and Mikey held his nunchaku at the ready as a sole worker wearing an O'Neil Shelltech uniform moved out of the shadows toward him. The Gunjin were nowhere in sight.

"Hello," he greeted, lowering his weapons slightly. "Sorry about the mess. I was looking for a group of bird men that dropped through your ceiling. Do you know which way they went?"

A growl rumbled from the lab worker's throat.

"Uh, you okay, dude?"

The growl metamorphosed into a roar that somehow contained a high-pitched whining sound at the same time. The worker threw his head back, arching his spine at an impossible angle, as his skin shifted to a deep shade of purple. Bone extensions erupted from the man's sides. Claws grew out from his fingertips, and the eyes changed to a bright red that shined in the darkness.

Mikey felt his throat grow dry. "Never mind," he said, backing away. "It's obvious I dropped in at a bad time. Sorry for the intrusion."

The creature snarled as it crouched on all fours.

"I'll just be going now!"

A prehensile tongue whipped out at Mikey's feet as he leaped up toward the ceiling. The dumbstruck faces of Cody and his brother's stared down in bemusement as Mikey seized the edge of the hole's edge and flipped himself forward onto the roof behind them.

"Monster... uniform... scary!" Mikey tried.

Cody and Serling stared back, clearly baffled by Mikey's behavior. "Don't worry," Raph told each of them, knowing automatically what was going through their minds. "You'll get used to it."

"I can only pray that never occurs," Serling grumbled.

Cody, however, turned around and glanced down through the opening. "Be careful," Serling exclaimed, reaching out to hold Cody back. "Master Cody, you'll fall."

"There's nothing down there," he said, looking the lab over.

"Nothing except a steep drop," Serling said, yanking Cody back.

"It's weird," Cody said, as he struggled to free himself from Serling's iron grasp. "This building isn't supposed to have laboratories on the top floor. I wonder what that place is for."

"Nothing that you need concern yourself with for the moment," Serling insisted. "I am taking you home where you'll be safe."

"I concur, Serling-san," Splinter said, helping Cody slip his arm through Serling's clutches. "Let us go, Cody-sama. It has been a very long day for all of us, especially yourself."

"Actually," Cody said, as they walked toward the Hovershell. "It was kind of exciting. I'm just sorry I slept through most of it."

{} {} {} {} {}

Darius Dun gripped his cane as he watched the Hovershell rise up off the skyscraper.

"Have the Gunjin been placed under arrest?" he asked his secretary via the comm link.

"No, sir," the secretary replied. "We're still making a sweep of the area, but it looks as though they've escaped."

Darius grit his teeth together in frustration. "Make sure the Purple Dragons are on constant alert for their capture," he said. "As far as I'm concerned, they are the ones responsible for this mess."

"Affirmative, sir." The secretary paused for a moment to make a note. "Also, we uncovered signs that the black-ops laboratory on the top floor had been infiltrated before the battle took place. It doesn't look like anything was stolen, but given the extent of the damage, it could be that we just haven't discovered the theft because of all the mess."

Darius paused. "The laboratory where Project: Black Book was created?"

"The Viral project, yes."

Darius Dun's face went stony as he set his eyes out across the Neo-Manhattan skyline. "Interesting," he hissed. "The lab was supposed to have been swept clean. What could anyone want with that place now?"


	7. Episode 7  Fly Me to the Moon

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Re: Fast Forward

Episode 7

Fly Me to the Moon

by That Long-Haired Creepy Guy

_ For years now, my brothers and I have been on a journey. We've crossed whole oceans, and traveled through the vastness of space. Each time, however, we've managed to find our way home._

_ This time, home is farther away than ever. Our only means of returning to the past may be gone for good. Right now, my faith in Donatello is what keeps me going. I keep reminding myself to believe in my brother, who's always had an answer for everything. Never before have I felt so lost, though. There is nothing I can do to help fix this. My family is stranded in a time and place that isn't our own._

_ Once more, I am powerless._

_ I keep trying to remember what the Ancient One taught me, that the burden of leadership means knowing when a situation is beyond you, and willing to trust those around you to help you carry the load. I feel the same darkness from before reaching out, scratching at the back corners of my mind. I'm so afraid we may never see our friends again._

_ But I'm also afraid of what the future holds for us if we manage to return. And what dangers lurk in this future, as well?_

{} {} {} {} {}

"But I'm tell you, I really did see something!"

Donatello rolled his eyes beneath the protective goggles shielding his eyes as he and Cody raised up.

"Sure, Mikey," Don said, giving Cody a look. "Just like the time you insisted alligators were living right outside the lair when we were kids, or the time when you thought the Mutant Brain from your Justice Force comics was coming to drink from your frontal lobe."

The three of them were currently standing in Cody's private lab. He and Donatello had been working when Mikey barged in, rambling on yet again about the thing he'd reputably seen inside the hidden lab atop the adjoining O'Neil Shelltech building. For the past two weeks, Michelangelo had talked of little else.

Don and Cody were mulling over some equipment behind one of Cody's many work tables, while Mikey stood on the opposite side, looking contrite.

"For your information, there were alligators in the sewers back home," Michelangelo retorted, as though having won the argument with this single statement. "Raph and Leo came across one once. They told us about it afterward too."

"Actually," Cody broke in, as he and Don stepped back to look their work over. "There are all sorts of species inhabiting Neo-Manhattan. Just because it was one the data records didn't have a match for doesn't mean it couldn't be real."

Don sighed as he removed his goggles.

"Don't encourage him," he warned seriously. "It'll only give you a headache. Besides, we have much more important things to worry about than looking for your imaginary purple people eater, Mikey. In case you've forgotten, the Time Window was stolen."

It was something that had weighed heavily on the minds of everyone since their return from the battle with the Inuwashi Gunjin. While checking the Kame Dojo to make sure there were no other lingering surprises for them, the turtles discovered that the Time Window was gone. Cody had pulled some strings, and got the Purple Dragon Corps to question the Gunjin about it. According to them, the Gunjin had no idea what they were talking about.

"I still don't get it," Cody said, sounding very frustrated. "There was nothing on the security footage, and no alarms were tripped after the Gunjin attacked."

"We still aren't sure who gave the Gunjin the access codes they needed to shut off the Kame Dojo's security in the first place," Don reminded, fitting two pieces of sensitive equipment together. "None of them were willing to talk."

"It's probably someone really important," Mikey offered, coming around to the side of the table near Cody. "Whoever wanted Cody kidnapped would've needed big bucks to pay the Gunjin to do their dirty work."

"Nice going, Einstein," Don retorted, rolling his eyes. "We figured that out almost from the get-go. There are a ton of people in Neo-Manhattan with access to that kind of funds."

"Anyway, the Purple Dragon Corps are looking into it," Cody added. "I'm sure they'll turn up something."

"Let's hope so," Don said worriedly. "We're too busy trying to rebuild the Time Window from scratch."

Don paused for a moment. "Sheesh," he groaned. "I never thought the day would come when I'd find myself rooting for the Dragons."

"The future is a weird place," Mikey said sagely. "Say, can I help?"

"Sure," Don replied. "Why don't you stay out of our way so we can work in piece?"

Michelangelo made a face at Don before turning around to stomp toward the door. "I'd still like to know how the Time Window was stolen in the first place," he overheard Cody saying as the lab doors opened for him. "Since the system shows no signs of intrusion, someone either hacked security footage afterward, or got in before the attack took place."

Don's voice was cut off as the lab doors slid shut. Michelangelo wandered away through the Dojo toward the Training Room where Leo and Raph were practicing together. The Dojo was still being rebuilt after the attack on it, but the crew had the day off. It felt weird having strangers in their home, and none of them give the turtles so much as an odd glance. Here in the future, most people still assumed they were aliens of some kind.

Mikey's face contorted into a bored frown as he stopped outside the Training Room doors, and punched in the codes to open it. Peeking inside, he spotted Leonardo near the side wall wailing on several computer replications of Foot ninja from their time. Raphael was sparring with two Triceraton generals much farther back. Both of them had activated their Nightrunner armor.

According to Cody and Don, the Training Room generated something called hard-light constructs. They were basically solid holograms. The turtles could practice all day against these things and they wouldn't bleed, or get tired. Mikey hated using them since they were a lot tougher than fighting against an ordinary person, but Leo insisted this gave them an advantage. Things in the future were a lot tougher, he'd said, and they had to get used to the idea of going up against stronger and more dangerous opponents.

Mind you, Leo had overlooked the simple fact that the holograms could be shut off with a single word. Bad guys, no matter what time period, didn't come with the same off switch.

"Level twelve completed for Player One," the computer announced overhead as the last Foot ninja Leo had been fighting collapsed to the floor, and vanished. "Beginning Level thirteen now."

"No way you're getting ahead of me this time, Bro!" Raph called out, his voice ragged from exhaustion as the Triceraton fell backward to the floor with a flip-kick to the jaw.

"Level twelve completed for Player Two," the computer announced. "Beginning Level thirteen."

"Hey, guys," Mikey called out as over a dozen Foot ninja materialized around Leonardo, while three Triceratons appeared in front Raph.

"Where were you, Mikey?" Leo demanded, as his fight began. "Practice started over an hour ago!"

"I was helping Don and Cody in the lab," he replied calmly, as the hard-light constructs began wailing on both of his brothers.

"More like getting in their way," Raph grunted back between gasps for breath.

Michelangelo winced as one of the Triceratons knocked Raph back into a wall. "Hey, I was helping," he insisted, as Raph rolled out of the way to avoid the Triceraton charging at him. "I just thought I'd come see what you guys are doing."

"We're..." Leo gasped, as several Foot ninja closed in on him. "...training," he finished. "Which is what you should be doing?"

"Alright," said Mikey, closing the door behind him. "If you insist."

Mikey tapped the icon on the strap covering the front of his shell, which summoned his Nightrunner battle armor and weapons. Giving the nunchaku a quick twirl, he then raced forward into the fray where Leo was doing his best to hold back the holographic Foot. Yellow electrical energy sparked from the whirling nunchaku, forming a golden dragon over Mikey's head.

"Go-go Golden Dragon Attack!" he cried out, sending the dragon forward.

Leo jumped out of the way just in the nick of time as the dragon blasted several of the Foot attacking him back. Mikey leaped into the center of the blitzkrieg, blowing several more of the Foot holograms away. Each one fell to the floor and flickered away. More came for him, but Mikey formed a shield by spinning the nunchaku together, and throwing the remaining Foot back.

Raph had flipped through the air, and was shoving his laser sai into one Triceraton's back when Mikey ran over.

"I got this one too, Raph," he said excitedly, smacking the Triceraton in the knees.

"Mikey, don't!" Raph cried out, as the blow caused the Triceraton to rear back in pain.

Raphael was thrown off, and landed in a heap behind the humanoid dinosaur, who tripped over him a second later, and into one of his comrades.

"Shocking, isn't it?" Mikey quipped, firing an energy blast into the both of them.

"Mikey, watch out!" Leonardo warned, as the third Triceraton closed in.

"Don't worry, Leo," said the youngest ninja turtle, flipping out of the Triceraton's reach. "Mikey be the king of video games, even in the future."

"Then let me give ya your crown," Raph snarled, his fists on fire as he rose back up to his feet.

Raph ran forward and swatted Mikey back away as the Triceraton grabbed for his brother again. Rearing back, he swung upwards into an uppercut punch that landed squarely under the dinosaur's jaw. Flames burst out, and the Triceraton let out a roar of pain and fury as it hit the ground.

"Nice shot," Mikey complimented. "I wonder how many points that was worth."

"Mikey, this isn't a game," Leo scolded. "The Training Room was set on an advanced level. You would have known that if you'd showed up when you were supposed to."

Mikey scowled. "How come nobody is coming down on Donnie for skipping out practice, huh?" he demanded. "He skipped too."

"Don's busy trying to help Cody build us a new way home," Raph pointed out. "If you had a third of his brain, we might believe you were doing something to help instead of just getting in the two geniuses' way."

"Mikey," Leo tried, hoping for patience as his breathing returned to normal. "We can't afford to let ourselves get sloppy. Now's not the time to kick back and relax."

"Why not?" Michelangelo wondered, even more confused than usual. "Guys, we're in the future. This has got to be the coolest thing that's ever happened to us."

Mikey's voice quickened as his excitement grew. "There's no Shredder here, no more evil aliens or butt-ugly sorcerers. We can finally go out just like everybody else and have a pizza. This is our chance to live like ordinary people, so why not take advantage of it."

"Because," Raph replied, smacking him upside the head. "Chuckle-brain, since we got here, everything in the future has been trying to kill us."

"So? That's normal for us," Mikey pointed out. "It's not like we weren't running or fighting for our lives back home. Besides, Donnie will think of something. That, or he and Cody will come up with some super-cool way of tracking whoever it was that stole the Time Window in the first place. In the meantime, why don't we all just go out and grab a bite before they figure out a way for us to get home, and we have to leave all this behind."

Leonardo gave Mikey a pained, sympathetic look. Raph, on the other hand, thought quietly for a moment, before looking past Michelangelo at his older brother.

"Maybe Mikey has a point for once, Leo," he said. "Don's never let us down before, and Cody's just as big a brain as he is. We've got two geniuses on our side, so there's not much for us to worry about."

"Aren't you the least bit worried about the Gunjin?" Leo asked, feeling himself growing angry all of a sudden. "Or that Viral creature that attacked us?"

"Sure," Raph said. "But like Mikey put it, how is any of that different from what we always have to deal with?"

Leo scowled at Raphael's indifference. "I'll show you why," he said, anger echoing in every footstep as he stomped toward the Training Room doors.

Raph and Mikey looked at each other and followed quietly after Leo, putting their Nightrunner armor away with two clicks as they passed through the doors. Leo was way ahead of them, still wearing his armor, and heading for the immense in front of the stairs. By the time they'd caught up to him, he was standing in front of a glass casing.

Mikey recognized it as the casing that held the weird Sword of Tengu replica.

"This is why I'm worried," Leo said, pointing down at the sword. "Everything in this entrance hall is something from our past that Cody collected. This looks like the Sword of Tengu."

Raph and Mikey stood stiffly behind Leo. "It does look kinda like the old Tengu sword," Mikey admitted uncomfortably, tilting his head slightly as his eyes drifted over the deadly-looking blade.

"It looks like it," Raph stated gruffly, "but someone's changed a few things. See, there wasn't a second blade on the opposite side of the hilt, for starters, and I don't remember the metal having ridges in the old one."

"Not to mention the fact that the old one was blown to pieces the first time we tangled with ol' Shred-Head inside his skyscraper," Mikey finished.

"Exactly my point," Leo insisted, brushing the glass with one hand. "We used the Sword of Tengu to fry the tech in the old Foot building. It was blown to pieces in the process, so how can this sword be here now."

"Who knows?" Raph tried, having a hard time ignoring his brother's paranoia now. "I mean, this is the future, right? Maybe someone built another one."

"If the Shredder could have built another Sword of Tengu that easily, do you really think he would have spent all those centuries looking for it?"

Mikey and Raph glanced at each other from behind Leo's back. "What does it mean, though?" Mikey tried. "Cuz, honestly Leo, you're freaking us out here a little."

"Yeah," Raph said. "Didn't Master Splinter tell you not to worry about that thing in the first place?"

Leonardo clenched the hand touching the glass into a fist. "I can't help it, guys," he confessed, feeling his resolve breaking down. "It's been on my mind since we got here. And there are other things, too. I can't help but think we were brought here so we could know the future."

Raph stiffened at Leo's words, remembering the Purple Dragon officer he'd spoken with two weeks before in the interrogation room.

'The Shredder Wars', she had said, even though the Shredder was supposed to be trapped on an asteroid made of ice. The Utroms had banished him there for his crimes. Raph had been present for the trial with his brothers and Splinter.

"Maybe we were brought here to change it," Leo finished, oblivious to Raph being lost in his thoughts.

"Did the Shredder escape?" Raph asked himself out loud.

Mikey and Leo both turned at the same time. "What?" Michelangelo asked, looking alarmed now.

"What was that, Raph?" Leo pressed.

"Nothing," Raph insisted, shaking his head. "Probably nothing. I heard one of those Purple Dragon goons say something. For all I know, they were messing with my head."

"Like that's a challenge," Mikey kidded.

Raph swung at him, which Mikey dodged easily. "That's the grouchy Raphael that we all know and love," Michelangelo said, grinning. "Come on, guys. Enough of this dark, dismal future and past stuff. Let's go have some fun before Don goes all annoyingly brilliant and builds a new Time Window to send us home. There's all sorts of cool stuff out there for us to explore."

Raph looked at Leo. "Maybe he's right, and you know how I usually feel about Mikey being right about anything."

"Yeah," Leo said, though his eyes still drifted over to the Sword of Tengu in the glass case as he spoke.

"Great," Mikey said, all but hopping up and down in one spot now. "So what should we do first?"

None of them had the chance to answer. A loud beep sounded through the front hall, followed by the doors opening. The turtles went still, resisting the urge to leap into the shadows out of reflex, as Darius Dun strode into the Kame Dojo.

The three brothers watched as the CEO of O'Neil Shelltech walked down the stretch of hallway as though he owned the place. Raph scowled while Leo kept both eyes sharply on the man. When he was but a few short feet from them, another set of footsteps echoed from behind, and at a much faster pace.

Cody O'Neil-Jones emerged from the side hallway that led to his lab, and stopped short beside the turtles wearing a shocked expression.

"Uncle Darius," he said, eyes wide. "What are you doing here?"

"Good afternoon, Cody," Darius said in a friendly tone. "I wish I could say that this was a social visit, but an incident has occurred that requires our attention."

Cody's face fell slightly at this. "Oh," he replied. "Alright then. What's the problem, Uncle Darius?" 

Darius glanced at each face of the three present turtles. Behind them, Donatello entered from the same side hallway that Cody had come from, and hesitated when he saw Darius Dun standing in front of his brothers.

"Ah, good," Darius said upon spotting him. "The four of you are present. This will go much faster now. Little Cody, if you wouldn't mind, send word to Serling to bring us some tea to the lounge for us. I'd like to speak with you and your friends all at the same time, if that isn't objectionable."

Don joined the others as they looked from one to the other. "Sure," Leo answered. "I guess that's fine. Master Splinter should already be in there. He's watching one of his favorite shows right now."

"Well done, then," said Darius, still grinning. "This concerns him as well."

"This way, Uncle Darius," Cody said, pulling out a pocket computer as he led the five of them toward the Dojo lounge. "I'll signal Serling so he'll know to go there."

Darius chuckled. "Good boy," he said softly. "You never fail to stay on top of any situation."

Master Splinter was sitting on the couch when they entered, his eyes fixed to the holo-screen as a new episode of 'As the Universe Turns' played. Young Cody entered first, moving aside just inside the door frame so that his uncle and the turtles could pass first. Hearing their footsteps, Splinter's ears twitched, and he turned to face them as they gathered round.

"My sons," he said, before noticing Darius. "And Mr. Dun, I believe Cody said it was. I am honored to be in your presence at last."

"The honor is all mine," Darius replied, taking a seat in the recliner off to the side. "I was hoping you and your sons might have a moment. I came here to speak with Cody concerning a bit of O'Neil Shelltech business, but I'd appreciate you sitting in, if you don't mind."

Splinter bowed his head ever so slightly, yet never took his eyes off Darius for a second. "Certainly," said Splinter in a reasonable tone. "My sons and I are at your disposal."

Darius smiled as Cody took a seat by the turtles and Splinter. "Is there something wrong at O'Neil Shelltech, Uncle Darius?" he asked. "If so, how can I help?"

"Not exactly," Darius said, looking straight across at Cody now. "Though this matter does concern you. Two days ago, we received a yellow alert from the O'Neil branch on Moon Base: Bishop. Two hours ago, that yellow alert went red."

The others looked grim while Cody stared wide-eyed across the gap between himself and his uncle. The only exception was Mikey.

"What's that got to do with us?" he wondered aloud.

Raph quickly smacked him upside the back of the head. "Shut up!"

"Official O'Neil Shelltech charter dictates that, in an event such as this, if there is a member of the O'Neil-Jones family available to intervene during an off-world crisis, they must attempt to mediate it."

Cody gulped. "Me?"

Darius nodded as Splinter's eyes narrowed. "With respect," he began carefully. "Cody-sama is still only a child."

"He is the only living member left of the O'Neil-Jones family," Darius pointed out rather sharply to the rat. "And the only living heir who stands to inherit O'Neil Shelltech. I am only the acting CEO until young Cody comes of legal age."

"That stinks," Raph barked. "Who thought up that crazy rule?"

"I believe it was the founders of the company," Darius replied, giving all of them a look. "However, now we've come to the reason why I wanted you here. I was hoping all five of you might be willing to accept a job on my behalf."

No one moved. "Doing what?" Raph asked boldly.

"Serving as young Cody's bodyguards," Darius said, giving his nephew a nod as he spoke. "I am not a fool. There is no way I could risk Cody's safety, and the future of O'Neil Shelltech, on such a mission. The five of you together saved Cody's life a couple of weeks back despite having been wrongfully accused of the crime. I recognize the error was on the shoulders of the Purple Dragon Corps, but for this, I can think of no one else to trust with Cody's safety."

Cody looked toward the turtles and Splinter before facing his uncle again. "What do I need to do?" he asked bravely.

"You must go to Moon Base: Bishop at once," Darius told him. "They are already expecting your arrival. Your shuttle has been primed, and will be ready for take-off the moment you arrive at Grand Central Trans-planetary Space Station."

"I have to go now?" Cody shifted his eyes guiltily at the turtles. "But I was in the middle of something important."

"Cody," Darius began, looking disappointed. "The future of the company could be at stake. If something has happened to the O'Neil center there, it is your duty to do everything you can to make it right."

"Agreed," Splinter said.

Cody looked shocked, but Splinter silenced him with a glance before he could say a word. "Anything Cody-sama is currently working on can be postponed indefinitely," Splinter declared meaningfully.

"On behalf of all of us," Leo said, taking his master's cue, "we'd like to accept your gracious offer to watch over Cody while he's on his mission to the moon."

"We get to go to the moon now?" Mikey burst out excitedly. "Cool!"

"Can we leave him there?" Raph asked seriously.

"I guess," Cody said uncertainly, getting out of the chair. "If you guys are coming too, we should probably go now. A trip to the moon will take several hours, since slipstream flight this close to the Earth is illegal."

"Oh, I read about that a few days ago," Don spoke up, speaking directly at Cody as his eyes brightened with excitement. "The slipstream warp engine is only used for flights outside the solar system. This close to a planet, there's high risk of a trans-indental explosion."

"You can geek out over the space tech once we get there," Raph muttered. "Right now, we've got a job to do."

"As well as packing," Splinter added, getting to his feet. "We should plan for a long stay in case the problem cannot be fixed immediately."

"Be quick," Darius warned gently, standing as well. "The longer we wait, the more time the crisis has to grow worse."

"We will make haste," Splinter assured him. "If you would excuse us, Dun-san, we must prepare for our trip."

"Go right ahead," Darius replied. "I would like a spare moment to say goodbye to my nephew anyway, if you don't mind."

Mikey made it to the doorway first, just in time to collide with Serling, who was carrying a tray loaded with cups and hot tea. The crash their bodies made rang in the ears of everyone. Both Serling and Mikey ended up on the floor covered in broken glass and steaming liquid.

"I'm on the bottom again," Michelangelo moaned beneath Serling's heavy metal weight. "Could somebody get this buckethead off me?"

"Move, transistor brains," Raph yelled, giving Serling a hard enough kick that it rolled the android off his youngest brother. "We ain't got time for your klutzy antics right now."

"Klutzy antics," Serling repeated as the turtles filed out of the room one after the other, with Splinter in the lead. "Who are you accusing of being klutzy? Come back here so I can shout at all of you properly!" 

"Can't," said Raph, not slowing down as they marched through the hall. "Cody's going on a mission to the moon, and we're coming along."

"What?" Serling's robotic eye stalks looked as though they might popped right off his head casing. "Who in their right mind would ever send Master Cody to the moon, and with any of you along with him?"

"That would be me," Darius said icily. "The terrapins are accompanying my nephew as part of his entourage so they can serve as bodyguards."

"Master Darius!" Serling exclaimed, whirling around to find Cody and Darius standing in the lounge door frame.

"It's alright, Serling," Cody assured him. "I'll be fine."

"But... but!" Serling tried, sensing a malfunction in his vocal circuitry.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the stairs, Splinter pulled his sons aside as Serling's babbling drifted through the lower part of the Dojo.

"My sons," he said, getting each one's attention. "You must take great care during this journey not to let Cody out of your sight for a moment."

Leo looked into his father's worried eyes. "Are you sensing that we shouldn't go after all, Master?" he asked.

"No," Splinter insisted. "I feel more than ever that we should not let Cody out of our sight."

"What's wrong, sensei?" Don pressed.

Splinter glanced back to the hallway they'd just left from, where Serling was still babbling incoherently. "I have thought about this these past two weeks," he whispered. "There is something that I do not trust about Darius Dun, and I believe Cody's mission is no coincidence."

"You too, Master?" Leo asked.

"Yeah," Raph said. "That creep makes my skin crawl."

"I know what you mean," Don chimed in. "I wasn't going to say it, but there's something about that guy I just don't like."

"We are guests in Cody's home," Splinter reminded them all. "Until we have irrefutable evidence that supports our claim, I feel it is best that we do not make him aware of our suspicions. However, if my premonition is correct, Cody must not be left alone."

"No problem," said Raph, cracking his knuckles.

"Right," Don added. "It's not like we were going to leave him high and dry. He's our only ticket home."

"Then let us prepare," Splinter said, motioning for them to head up the stairs. "Before Mr. Dun ceases to be distracted by Serling."

"I don't see how he hasn't scrapped the tin can already," Raph grumbled, as Serling continued his incessant babbling.

{} {} {} {} {}

"This is it, guys," Cody said, unable to hold back the excitement in his voice. "O'Neil Shelltech's personal space cruiser, the Star Splinter."

The group was standing under a canopy in one of Grand Central Trans-planetary Space Station's loading bays. It had been two hours since Cody's uncle had delivered his message, and asked the turtles to serve as the O'Neil-Jones heir's personal bodyguards. Darius had bowed out of accompanying him thanks to an emergency call he'd received while they were packing.

No one was disappointed to see him go.

"Star Splinter, eh?" Raph said, giving his sensei a look. "Looks like April and Casey went out of their way to make sure somebody wasn't forgotten."

"It's incredible," Don breathed, looking the craft over. "A real live slipstream engine craft capable of reaching the surface of the moon in just a few hours."

Don looked down at a rather sheepish-looking Splinter. "And it was named after you, sensei!"

"Well, sure," Cody said, diverting attention away from a very grateful rat. "There are lots of people left at O'Neil Shelltech who remember the stories."

"Thank you, Cody-sama," Splinter said, blushing slightly. "I am honored to be thought of in such a way, but one should never know too much about one's own future."

"Oh, right," Cody said, looking away in embarrassment. "Sorry about that."

Leo and Raph looked at each other as smoke from the Star Splinter began to cover the loading bay area.

"It looks like we're ready to board," Cody told him, pointing at an open holding door. "Our luggage should already inside."

"Okay," Leo said, taking command. "Standard flanking position, guys. Keep Cody covered on all sides, and keep moving toward the ship."

Cody watched as Splinter moved to his side while the turtles each took point in front, back, and on his left and right.

"Is this necessary?" he wondered. "We're just going to the moon."

"We are in charge of your personal safety," Splinter reminded him. "And in the last few weeks, enough has happened to make us err to the side of caution."

Everyone was on alert as they ascended the ramp. A young woman was waiting inside the greeting area of the Star Splinter, and nodded directly at Cody as he came into view.

"Sir," she said, bringing her head down low. "We are ready to depart as soon as you and your companions have taken your seats. The ship is already primed and ready for take-off."

"Thank you, Captain," Cody said. "We'll get seated right away, then."

One after another, the turtles filled through the tight corridor leading to the back where the seats were located. The Star Splinter looked to be a rather small ship, built for transporting only a handful of passengers. This was confirmed a moment later when they reached the passenger compartment. The seats themselves were spacious, and looked very comfortable. Nevertheless, there weren't many of them.

The turtles and Splinter all waited until Cody had selected his, then piled in around him.

"Just make yourselves comfortable," Cody said, looking excited now as they strapped themselves in. "It'll be a few hours before we get to Moon Base: Bishop."

"You sound like you've been before," Donatello noted as he struggled with the clasp on his seat belt.

"A few times," Cody answered, giving Don a hand with the mechanism. "When I was really young. It was before my parents died, though, so I don't have a lot of memories of it."

Leo looked hesitantly toward his sensei for a moment before turning back to Cody. "You hardly ever talk about your parents," he said nervously, as though waiting for a bomb to go off.

The other turtles stiffened. Donatello grimaced at Leo, clearly unsettled by the topic of conversation his older brother was breaching.

Leo, however, wasn't deterred. "What happened to them?" he pressed gently. "Was it anything like with the Gunjin?"

"No," Cody answered automatically, as though Leo had asked about the weather. "They died in a transit ship on re-entry."

The turtles took a moment to process this as the ship began to rumble. Overhead, a holo-screen carrying the ship captain's image appeared, announcing that they would be airborne shortly.

"Do you know how it happened?" Don asked, unable to resist now.

"I don't know the details," Cody said, looking forlorn now. "According to reports, there was some sort of malfunction on the shuttle as it was coming back into the Earth's atmosphere. The engines supposedly overheated, and there was an explosion."

"Not the best thing to hear just before we hurl ourselves into space," Mikey noted.

Raph reached out to smack him, but was beaten to the punch by Splinter. "Ow!" Mikey moaned, rubbing the spot on his head where Splinter's staff had hit him. "Sorry, Cody. That came out wrong."

Cody smiled. "I used to hate space travel," he admitted. "I know that transit shuttles don't explode out of the sky every day, but it still scared me. To be honest, I'm really glad all of you are here with me. I wouldn't have wanted to make this trip alone."

"Not a chance, little ninja," Mikey said, raising his hand up for a high-three, which Cody mimicked, clearly baffled by what was going on.

"Like this," Don offered, smacking palms with Mikey. "It's called a high-five. Or a high-three in our case. This is something we do back in the early twenty-first century."

"Oh, right!" Cody said, thrusting his palm much too hard into Mikey's hand.

"Ack!" Mikey cried out in mock pain, as his arm went limp. "Cody's got some punch behind him. Maybe we ought to have him spar with Raph whenever he wakes up on the wrong side of the bed."

"I'd send him to you, first," Raph retorted. "It'd be nice to have somebody around who could shut that flappin' mouth of yours up for once."

"No kidding," Don chimed in, enjoying himself. "Don't forget, though, Raph. If Cody knocks Mikey out, he may start snoring."

"That alone is a good reason to keep them separated," said Leo, laughing along with everyone else.

"Come on, guys," Cody began, looking sheepishly at them.

"Yeah, Cody and me are best buds," Mikey declared, reaching over Donatello to ruffle Cody's hair. "I know I'll be okay so long as he has my back."

Cody's face reddened. "Guys, come on," he pleaded. "You're the ones who have had all those adventures. I just stay in my lab most days and build stuff."

"Besides," he added, sounding more than a little saddened now, "I'm no ninja."

Splinter smiled. "A ninja's greatest strength is his mind, Cody-sama," the rat said encouragingly. "When a ninja trains his mind, the body follows."

"He's right," Leo said. "Knowledge is the greatest weapon a warrior can have."

"But I'm not a ninja," Cody insisted.

"From this day forward," Splinter told him, his tone very serious, "your ninja training begins. Consider this journey your first lesson in the art of ninjutsu. You must find a way to resolve the situation on the moon base using only the skills you have learned, and the knowledge you have accumulated through the years."

Cody blinked as Splinter stared into his eyes. "You're serious?" he asked meekly.

"You have been called to shoulder a great burden," Splinter reminded. "This is something a grown man in your position would find daunting. You have already proven capable of bearing it. This proves to me you have the discipline needed to become a true ninja master."

The ship shook, signifying that it had begun its ascent into the air. The captain appeared on the holo-screen again, explaining that they'd been cleared for take-off, and would be leaving the planet's atmosphere in approximately ten minutes.

The turtles, Splinter, and Cody all sat back in their seats, preparing for lift-off. Unlike most planes, the Star Splinter rose into the air vertically, stopping only once it had cleared the Grand Central airspace.

From there, it angled its ascent, and blasted off for the clouds. The turtles tightened their grip on the arm chairs as the ship's speed increased.

"Don't worry," Cody said, his voice shaking. "It's supposed to get better once we get through the ionosphere."

Sure enough, the ship began to level off and steady itself after a few more minutes.

"Any more of that and my kidneys would've shaken loose," Raph groaned.

"I think mine already did," Mikey whimpered weakly. "I think I need to go to the little turtle's room, and fast."

"Go," Donatello ordered, pointing a finger toward the back. "Quickly. I don't want this flight to be anything like the last trip we took out to Casey's farm."

"On your left," Cody told Michelangelo as he uncoupled himself from the seat. "The door is marked, so it'll be easy to find."

"Pray it's in neon," Raph whispered to him. "That way he doesn't get lost."

"I heard that, Raphie-boy," Mikey called out. "When I get back, remind me to tell Cody about the time you got stuck in a toilet, and it took three buckets of Crisco before you finally popped out."

Raph's eyes blazed as Cody slowly gave into his laughter, along with everyone else. "Thank you," Cody said, bumping his fist against Raph's, which snapped him out of his anger instantly.

"Really," Cody insisted, when they all turned to face him. "This has been the best trip ever, and we haven't even gotten started."

Raph bumped knuckles with Cody and nodded. "This is just the start, kid," he told the eleven-year old. "Don't worry. It only gets better."

By the time the ship had completely cleared the atmosphere, Mikey had returned from his bathroom trip. The captain had since opened the sun shields covering the windows, giving them a rather gorgeous rear view of the Earth.

"Who would've thought we'd be seeing this again so soon," Donatello said breathlessly.

He and Mikey were both crouched on top of two plush seats by the windows, peering out into space with their faces pressed to the transparent steel.

"I think it's kinda weird," Mikey replied, looking out the window next to Don's. "I mean, think about it. From the way Cody's talks, people make this sort of trip all the time now. For some, this is probably boring."

Don rolled his eyes. "Only you could conceive a way to make looking down at the Earth from outer space boring, Mikey."

"I didn't say it was boring," Mikey pointed out, raising back away from his window slightly. "I just think other people do. Personally, I think it's cool."

Donatello laughed. "The first and second set of turtles in space," he said, smiling across the gap at his baby brother. "That's gotta be a record."

"The first and second set of ninjas in space, too," Mikey clarified. "That's an even bigger record, if you ask me."

"No one would ask you anything," Raph ribbed, coming up behind them. The sight of the Earth down below made his breath catch in his throat before he could go any further.

"It is amazing, though," he said thoughtfully after a moment. "Usually, whenever we go into space, someone's trying to blow us up, or gun us down with alien weapons."

Something streaked through the air, striking the side of the ship interior next to Michelangelo's head. All three turtles jumped around in the direction of where the laser blast had come from, expecting an attack.

Instead, they saw the captain standing several feel away down the aisle leading to the cockpit holding a compact blaster weapon. Tears streamed down her face as she stared at the turtles, terrified.

"Help me," she gasped, the arm with the gun attached to it shaking now. "Oh, please. Help me before I do it again. Please!"

"The hell?" Raph wondered.

Mikey squealed and ducked out of the way as another blast came toward him. "Somebody get the gun away from her," he demanded, as another blast burned a hole in the back of the seat protecting him. "Before she takes my head off."

"On it," Donatello said, flipping through the air.

"No way, bro," Raph countered, already moving. "This one is mine."

"Race you," Don countered, as he and Raph both charged the captain, drawing her fire.

When Raph was close enough, his foot struck out and kicked the blaster away. The captain dropped to her knees, whimpering in what sounded like pain as Mikey joined his brothers.

"Why do they always shoot at me?" he wondered.

"Because you're always asking for it," Raph replied.

"I'm sorry," the captain said in a pleading voice. "I didn't want to. I'm so sorry, but... they made me do it. They're still making me do it. Please, you've got to get him off this ship."

"Who?" Don asked, as Raphael lifted the woman up off the floor.

"Cody," she hissed, her eyes flashing red for a split second. "Master Cody O'Neil-Jones. They're trying to stop him from reaching Moon Base: Bishop before they're done. They haven't got much time left, so they had to kill him. They're trying to make me doing, but..."

The captain's mouth opened wide before she could finish. It looked as though her jaw was trying to unhinge. Her eyes glowed red again, for much longer this time, pulsing to the rhythm of a heartbeat. A sound came out of her mouth, then. It was like a growl, though vaguely metallic. Raph let go of her and stepped back as her skin began to change colors.

Spines erupted out of her back.

"Oh, crap!" Mikey shouted, pointing down at her. "I've seen those before. She's just like that freaky dude I saw inside that lab."

"Are you serious?" Don asked, as the captain began to change further.

Claws that resembled bones exploded out of her fingertips, tearing at the carpet beneath their feet. Another metallic growl escaped through her mouth, which she opened to reveal row after row of razor-sharp teeth.

All three of them switched to Nightrunner mode. "Wait, where's Cody?" Mikey demanded, looking around frantically.

"With Splinter and Leo," Raph said, holding up his laser sais. "They went to the can together. Leo didn't think Cody should be left alone."

"I'm getting on board that train of thought," Mikey said, as the creature in front of them rose up on its legs.

"Right," Don said, observing the situation. "Our objective is clear. We keep that thing from getting anywhere near Cody."

"I can handle that," Raph said confidently, giving both sais a twirl. "Somebody warn Leo that we've got a situation up here."

"Can I volunteer for that?" Mikey pleaded. "Cuz this thing gives me the creeps."

"Um, a quick question," Don said, as the creature flexed its hands in anticipation. "If that used to be the captain, then who's currently flying the ship."

No one moved. "Get to the cockpit and make sure this things got some kind of autopilot," Raph told Don, while the creature swiped at them, with its jaw hanging open, in an effort to intimidate them.

"How's he supposed to get past that thing?" Mikey wondered.

"Wait for my signal," Raph said, readying himself. "Then make your move."

"On it," Don said, before looking at Mikey. "Don't let that thing get anywhere near Master Splinter or Cody. I'll radio Leo for help once I'm through."

Michelangelo gulped, but stood his ground. "Make it fast," he said, as the creature narrowed its eyes on him.

{} {} {} {} {}

"But why, sir?"

Darius let out an exasperated sound as he turned away from the holo-screen. "Because I ordered you to stay behind," he replied viciously. "What part of that were you not clear on?"

Serling's robotic face looked down at Darius in desperation. "You are a machine," Darius stated, as though that should have been obvious. "An android designed to serve as a nursemaid to a spoiled, naive heir. The only reason you have emotions at all is because you were programmed to simulate them. Ever impulse you exhibit at this very moment is the result of your programming."

"I was already aware of that, Master Dun," Serling replied, keeping his voice in check.

"Then why are we even having this conversation," Darius asked. "I ordered you to stay behind and maintain vigilance over the Kame Dojo while Cody is at Moon Base: Bishop."

"But why, sir," the android insisted. "I don't understand. You're risking Master Cody's life by allowing those miscreants to bodyguard him."

"No," Darius said, looking at the holo-screen now with a sinister leer. "I'm ensuring they all die in one fail swoop."

Serling's eyes flashed, and his face went flat. "My apologies, sir," he said. "Clearly, there was some sort of glitch during the communication transfer."

"There was no communication glitch," Darius said gleefully, sitting back down in his chair. "I ordered you to remain behind because there is a possibility that some of the artifacts young Cody has horded over the years might have value."

Dun thought for a moment. "That," he said. "Or I could simply open up a museum with them in little Cody's memory. Perhaps you could serve as curator."

"Sir?"

Darius smiled. "I sent Cody to the moon because that is where he will die. The Time Window showed two possible outcomes. If you had gone with them, there was a chance Cody could survive. With the four terrapins and the rat guarding him, however, Cody will finally meet his end."

Serling stared at the screen in shock. "The Time Window," he said, the circuits behind his optic lenses racing. "You were the one who stole the Time Window from Master Cody's lab?"

"Of course not."

Darius waited, clearly on the verge of delivering something big. "You stole it for me, Serling. I've had you doing my dirty work for some time now."

Serling robotic casing shook. "It can't be," he whispered. "No, it can't be. My programming would never allow me to do anything like that."

"Oh, but it is a part of your programming," Darius told him, enjoying the growing horror on Serling's metal face now. "See, quite a while back, when you were scheduled for a routine maintenance, I bribed one of the tech crew members to install a Trojan program that would activate with but a simple command word from me."

Darius pushed the chair away from the screen and stood again, unable to remain still as he spoke.

"The program overrides all other impulses, forcing you to obey my commands. Furthermore, it allows me to install instructions, similar to post-hypnotic suggestion. You carry my orders out without thinking about it, then delete the memories and instructions from your primary and secondary hardrives."

Serling stared at the screen blankly now.

"You were the one who shut down the security at the Kame Dojo just before the Inuwashi Gunjin attacked," Darius told him, "because I was the one who hired them. I had you stun Cody so he would be more manageable, then commanded you to retrieve the Time Window for me."

"I..." Serling tried. His voice circuits sounded hollow.

"I have to commend my nephew," Darius said, switching subjects now. "He's far cleverer than I ever gave him credit. Who would have thought the corporate espionage industry would be revolutionized by an eleven-year old boy."

"It can't be true," Serling whispered.

Darius ignored him now. "The Time Window showed me in advance what was happening at the O'Neil Shelltech division on Moon Base: Bishop," he went on, oblivious to the android's shock now. "Even now, I still don't understand every detail. The technicians are still working out how the Window functions, and there was some kind of anomaly interfering with the display. One thing was perfectly clear, though. Little Cody will die within two days of landing on the moon."

"You're lying," Serling declared.

Darius rolled his eyes and faced the holo-screen again. "Oh, really?" he asked brazenly. "And what makes you so certain?"

"If you've been controlling me all this time, why haven't you ordered me to kill Master Cody in the first place?" Serling asked furiously. "If murdering your nephew was really what you wanted, you could have made me do it."

"Of course I could have," Darius said, shrugging. "That would have been easy."

Darius's answer made Serling pause. "The problem with that is the fact that the Purple Dragon Corps would never have backed away," he continued. "You were built specifically to protect and nurture Cody O'Neil-Jones in the place of his parents. Every last circuit in that rusted metal casing carries the impulse to keep him safe. The Purple Dragons would have insisted on investigating the cause of you murdering Cody. They would never have backed down. No amount of money in the world would have held them back, and this would have led me to being discovered."

Serling's eyes glowed as rage took him over. "The risk was too great of me being discovered," Darius said calmly. "If my fingerprints were found in any way concerning Little Cody's death, the board of directors would vote me out in a heartbeat. I would lose everything. The best I could do was keep a spy inside his home, watching his every move for me, without even realizing he was doing so."

"I'll stop you," Serling declared.

Darius acted as though he hadn't heard. "Now, though," he said. "Now I have the Time Window, and it can show me so many things. Once Cody is dead, I will have complete control over O'Neil Shelltech."

"Didn't you hear me?" Serling demanded. "I said I would stop you."

Darius laughed. "Will you now?" he managed to blurt out between snickers. "And how do you plan on managing that?"

"Every word that's said to me is recorded in my databanks," Serling told him, punching buttons on his holo-pad back at the Kame Dojo. "I have this entire conversation stored inside me. It can be sent to the Purple Dragon Corps in a matter of seconds. Not even you can stop that in time."

"Right," Darius said, bored now.

"It's nearly ready," Serling told him. "I can't believe I trusted you this whole time. I can't believe Cody trusted you."

"Shocking, really."

"The file is ready to be sent." Serling stared into the screen at Darius's relaxed face. "This is the end of you."

"I'm so scared," Darius said flatly.

Serling hesitated, then. "Aren't you the least bit frightened?"

"No," Darius replied, still grinning from ear to ear. "And I haven't been in years."

Serling raised back away from the holo-screen slightly. "Why?" he wondered, suddenly very worried for a completely different reason.

"Because," Darius whispered playfully, bringing his hand up to the side of his mouth like a child would, "we've already had this conversation before, and it always ends the same way."

Serling froze. "What?"

"Serling," said Darius, raising back in his chair again. "No matter how many times I have to wipe your memory, gloating to you never gets old. Protocol Alpha!"

Darius let out a relaxed sigh as the android on his screen went slack. "Delete your entire memory of this conversation," he ordered. "As far as you are concerned, we just had a pleasant chat about Cody coming home. Remove anything that might have been uploaded to the Dojo's systems concerning it as well. Once you're done, sign off and return to your duties."

Darius waited until the holo-screen faded, then laughed. "Oh," he said to himself, staring up at the ceiling. "I never get tired of that."


	8. Episode 8 Turtle Titan 2-point-0

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Re: Fast Forward

Episode 8

Turtle Titan 2.0

by That Long-Haired Creepy Guy

_You know what? It's awesome being a ninja turtle._

_ My bros and I have have some seriously epic adventures together, and things just keep on coming. Back when I was just a little baby turtle, I always wanted to be a superhero. Fighting bad guys and evil alien monsters sounded awesome. Well, in the past few years, we've all managed to do that, plus lots more._

_ The thing about it is, doing this sort of stuff in real life is a lot harder than they make it look on TV and in comic books. I bet a lot of people would love to trade places with us, but there are moments when I almost wish life could be easier, like it is in the Justice Force animated series._

_ Because one thing we've all learned is that being a hero means making really tough choices._

_ And I'm really starting to hate those!_

{} {} {} {} {}

**'The Mauve Zone is for the immediate loading and unloading of passengers.'**

"Mommy! Mommy! Look!" a child's voice cried out excitedly.

"Not now, dear," replied the tired mother's voice. "Mommy's trying to reach your father over the vid comm."

"But it's a ship, Mommy!"

The mother whirled around sharply and stared down at her daughter. "Milandra, this is Moonbase Bishop Interstellar Airport. Of course it's a..."

The mother stopped short in mid-sentence as her eyes finally saw what her daughter had been so excited about.

"Great Goddess above us!" the woman screamed as the puddle jump cruiser swooped and wove its way down haphazardly through the air toward the main building.

Grabbing her daughter, the woman leaped out of the way of the window. The walls shook as the cruiser's engines roared. Seconds before it would have collided, the cruiser veered sharply to the left out of the way, and raced past alongside the exterior wall toward the docking bay.

Aliens and humans alike were racing toward the viewport now to find out what was going on. Someone stopped to help the mother and her daughter up off the floor before the crowd could thicken.

"That ship's out of control," someone in the thick cluster of bodies surmised. "It looks like it's going to crash."

"No, it's not," another replied reassuringly. "I see the base patrol units coming this way."

Everyone turned to follow the flashing lights that zoomed along out in the vastness of space. Behind the backdrop of the Earth, the moonbase patrol narrowed in on the out-of-control cruiser, surrounding it on all sides. A few people sighed with relief, but these quickly became gasps as the cruiser abruptly lurched sideways, knocking one unit out of it's flight pattern.

The cruiser zipped through the small opening that was made and spun wildly in a downward motion back toward the base. Screams went up over the still-growing crowd as the cruise raced dangerously close to the dome that sealed in the artificial atmosphere of the base. One patrol unit darted along a perpendicular path, slamming into the cruiser, and knocking it out of the way before it could crash.

Both tumbled through the air, the patrol unit severely damaged and left hanging helplessly in the vacuum-less void while the others reconvened. In moments, they had the cruiser surrounded again.

"Something's not right," a garbled male voice said. "I think the controls were damaged. The ship shouldn't be shaking that much."

The cruise was indeed rattling like it might shake apart at any moment. "Oh my gosh," the mother exclaimed, pulling her daughter in closer. "I think I recognize that cruiser. It belongs to the head of O'Neil Shelltech."

Several pairs of eyes, and a few other appendages, reacted to this bit of news. The patrol units, however, were already moving in and lassoing the ship with their tractor beams. A few minutes later, the cruiser was being deposited on a docking port. Reports were coming in over the holo-windows and audio comms that the docking port was being evacuated due to an emergency.

"Starlight," the mother said to her daughter in a gentle voice as the crowd around them began to disperse. "I want you to wait right here while Mommy goes and makes an emergency call, okay?"

Milandra nodded. "Stay right here and watch the cruiser that just docked," the mother instructed gently. "Make sure nothing else happens to it. I want to know if anything else goes wrong while I'm gone."

"Where are you going?" the girl asked, catching her mother before she could walk away. "Are you going to call Daddy again?"

Quickly, the mother put on a false smile. "No, starlight," she reassured. "We won't bother Daddy for a while. He's busy, remember? Mommy's just going to call someone at work."

The daughter's face contorted into an exaggerated scowl for a moment. This faded fast, however, as she turned back to the cruiser to keep watch. It didn't look as though anything strange was happening now. As far as the girl was concerned, the excitement was over.

Her mother, though, felt otherwise.

Once she was far enough away, the girl's mother pressed a button on her wrist comm. "Get me Darius Dunn," she ordered in a much crisper tone. "I've got some news for him about his nephew."

{} {} {} {} {}

Cody O'Neil-Jones fell forward onto the controls of the cruiser, gasping for air as the docking procedure automatically kicked in.

"We're in," he shouted through the communication line.

The din of battle coming from outside the cockpit area echoed back through the feed.

"Great," Michelangelo's voice called out. "Now if we could just take care of our little pest control problem."

Cody winced as Mikey cried out sharply in pain. A hard thud followed, indicating that the youngest ninja turtle had been slammed into the side of the cruiser's interior. The voices of the others followed, shouting in anger and fear. Despite not seeing it, Cody knew the fight had just intensified, which seemed implausible considering the last half-hour.

It had been pandemonium from the onset practically, with the turtles and Splinter fighting an uphill battle for control of the ship. It was still difficult form Cody to believe. Raphael had tried to fill him in once he'd returned with Splinter and Leonardo from the bathroom. Something had evidently happened to the pilot, and between screams, Mikey had chimed in that it was the same sort of alien he'd spotted inside the hidden laboratory at O'Neil Shelltech weeks ago.

The others had done their best to keep Cody out of the way. The alien, or pilot, whichever it was, had taken a keen interest in him the moment Cody came into view. Outer space was hardly the sort of area one should have a brawl in, which of course meant the turtles couldn't go all out with their weapons for fear of breaching the hull by mistake. The mysterious, shape-changing alien, however, had no such qualms. That left everyone at a disadvantage, but no one more so than Donatello, who had taken the controls in a desperate attempt to keep the cruiser on course.

During the battle, the ship had been rocked back and forth like a pinball. Despite his expertise, Don had never flown a future-tech spaceship before. After several flips and a couple of barrel rolls, Cody had ducked into the cockpit to see if he could help. Splinter had told him before to play to his strengths, that a ninja used whatever skills they possessed to turn a situation to their advantage. Cody was no good to the turtles in a fight, unfortunately, but he knew enough about piloting the cruiser to, in theory, keep it on course.

And the turtles had needed their brother more than him.

Don had graciously given control of the ship over to him, then joined the others to try and keep the creature contained. Cody had gotten them back on course, switched on the emergency thrusters to boost their speed, and sent an SOS to the moonbase so help would be waiting for them.

Now the cruiser was docked, but the alien pilot was still running loose. And going by the noise coming from the main area of the cruiser, it wasn't happy.

"My sons!" Cody heard Splinter cry out.

Cody wracked his brain for a solution. The turtles had ordered him to barricade himself inside the cockpit, but the emergency lock-down sequence was easily disabled from his end of things.

"Moonbase Bishop Control," he called out through the vid comm while switching over to the emergency broadband frequency. "Moonbase Bishop Control, do you read?"

"We read you," came the reply, as the face of a lone man with a four o'clock shadow covering his chin appeared on the holo-screen. "Please identify yourself."

"This is Cody O'Neil-Jones of the O'Neil Shelltech private class cruiser," Cody replied. "Serial number 110154217. I'm reporting from Docking Bay six-four-six. We have an emergency situation."

"Patrol units are already on stand-by," the reception officer replied, hitting several commands on his own console. "Please explain the nature of your emergency."

"Right," Cody said. "It's the pilot. Something happened to her during the flight. She somehow... mutated, or transformed. We're not sure which. My bodyguards have been trying to keep the woman contained without harming her or breaching the ship's hull, but I don't think they can hold out much longer."

"Understood," the officer replied, hitting more controls. "Can you identify the species of the pilot?"

"She is, or was, human," Cody answered.

More noise came through the door separating the cockpit. It sounded like the turtles had gained the upper hand.

"I still don't know what happened," Cody went on. "It could be that she was an unknown species of alien in disguise. We haven't been able to get answers from her."

"Units are in position to storm the cruiser as we speak," the reception officer informed. "Can you disable the deadlock seal on the cruiser's exterior from your end?"

"Yes," Cody said, doing so. "They should be able to enter the ship now with no trouble. I'm also disabling the locks on the cockpit where I'm at."

"Negative," the officer replied at once. "Your safety is our number one priority. If we are dealing with an unidentified alien species, the best thing would be for you to remain out of firing range. The creature might try and use you as a hostage."

"Maybe," Cody admitted, "but those are my people, and they've been fighting to protect me this whole time."

Cody killed the communication link before the officer could say anything else, then disabled the lock on the cockpit door. He had done his part by getting the cruiser to the moon base. Now he had to see if anything could be done for the turtles and Splinter.

"Clear!"

The command came from the other side of the door. Cody was reaching for it with one hand when he heard laser fire. The alien on the other side shrieked in pain, most likely from being shot.

In his other hand, Cody clutched an extinguisher gun. The pressurized chemical inside was designed to put out small console fires. It was the only thing remotely resembling a weapon that he could find. Anything else had either been disabled, or wasn't much use. Apparently, the creature had planned ahead.

Cody cracked the cockpit door slightly, then got an idea. Crouching down on the floor, he opened the door a little wider and peered out. There was laser fire everywhere. The turtles and Splinter had taken cover behind whatever they could find as the unit officers carved the cruiser interior up with holes from their guns. The laser fire ricocheted back off the hull in some places, but this hadn't slowed the pilot down one bit.

Off the floor and ceiling it bounced. It was easy for Cody to see why the turtles and Splinter had had such a hard time with the thing.

Cody took aim with his extinguisher gun and waited. He would only get one chance to fire. If the creature noticed him, it would most likely rush toward him. Cody figured he wouldn't get the door closed in time, so he planned his shot carefully. When the alien landed on all fours facing his direction, he pushed down on the tab on the butt of the gun and held it.

A white, frothy substance shot out of the tip, shooting straight into the creature's face in a narrow stream. Upon contact with the creature's face, it expanded outward. The alien snarled in outrage as the asphyxiating liquid coated its entire head. Cody kept pressing down on the head, unloading the guns contents at the violent alien being.

"Cody!"

Leonardo's voice cut through the sounds of continuing laser fire.

"Cody-dono!" came Splinter's voice next.

"Where is the O'Neil-Jones heir?" demanded a man's voice Cody didn't recognize. "We have to secure his position!"

The liquid inside the gun abruptly ran out. The creature staggered, still halfway-covered in the asphyxiating goo. It's razor-sharp claws tore at the substance, digging into chunks of its own flesh in the process. Leonardo saw that it was distracted and dove forward, brandishing his ninjaken. The illuminated swords swung down in a chopping motion, slicing the creature in half.

Cody stared in shock as the uneven halves of the alien fell to the floor with a wet, sickening 'thud' sound. Leonard rose up, spotting Cody down on the floor between the crack in the cockpit door, and smiled.

"I've found him," Leo called out to the others. "He's over here."

"Move in," said the unidentified male voice from before.

Cody started to raise up, then saw the alien corpse moving. Tendrils rose out of the sliced insides of the creature, waving almost hypnotically in the air for a moment.

"Leonardo," Cody shouted. "Look out!"

Leo jumped reflexively back out of the way as the alien simultaneously melted and shot straight up into the ceiling, leaving the adhesive glop behind. Splattering against the ceiling, the substance reformed into the alien's shape, which then darted toward the ceiling in long jumps. The unit officers standing nearest to the door began firing again, but their shots missed. The creature lashed its prehensile tongue out at them, striking a few in the shoulders, before it dove out into the docking bay area.

"After it!" the leader ordered. "Don't let that thing leave the deadlock area, or it might contaminate the whole moon base."

Splinter was already approaching Cody. "Are you alright, Cody-dono?" the rat sensei asked, concern filling his voice as he reached out to help Cody up off the floor.

"I'm fine," he assured Splinter. "Is everyone else okay, though?"

"We'll live," Raph replied brashly, though Cody noticed the streetwise turtle was clutching one arm in pain.

"Here," Cody said. "We need to get you to a medic facility. They need to make sure you weren't infected with anything."

Raph waved Cody away at once. "Some weird brain-pan alien isn't going to bring this turtle down, kid," Raph insisted. "I'm cool."

"Some aliens carry bacteria that are unique to their species and planets," Cody explained firmly, unwilling to take Raph's word for it. "They can be harmful to humans, and it would be even worse for you guys with your mutated biology."

"We'll all get checked out," Don assured Cody, "once we know that you're okay."

"We still have a job to do," Splinter reminded them, Cody in particular. "And that is to keep you safe, Cody-dono."

"Um, is anyone here the least bit worried about the fact that a butt-ugly alien just jumped out the front door of the ship?" Mikey cut in, his voice all panicky.

"Not me," Raph retorted. "Let the moon base cops handle it. For once, it doesn't have to be our problem."

"This is their jurisdiction, "Don added in Raph's favor, looking thoughtfully toward the door where the creature had escaped. "So long as they can handle it, I don't think we need to get involved."

"Right," Leo agreed. "This isn't something we're needed for. Keeping Cody safe is why we're here."

"I'm fine," Cody insisted. "But you guys need to get checked out. Let's go see if it's safe for the Moonbase airport to send us a ride."

"Still," Donatello said as the turtles and Splinter flanked Cody on all sides. "I wonder what that creature was doing on board this ship. Was it some kind of shape-shifter, or did something happen to the pilot?"

"You're over-thinking it, Donnie," Raph said dismissively as he and Don approached the door together.

The others were lingering behind to guard Cody while they checked to make sure the coast was clear. The other unit patrol officers had already vacated in pursuit of the alien.

"Just enjoy the fact that there's someone else around to handle stuff like this," Raph went on, sticking his head out cautiously. "In our time, we'd get stuck dealing with it. Here, people know all about the weird shit that happens."

"I guess you're right," Don agreed.

Don jerked back into the cruiser hull as laser fire riddled the spot next to the hatch. Raph did the same, giving his sais an expert twirl while his brother pulled out the futuristic bo staff. Chaos was boiling over down in the lower docking area. Donatello had managed to get a brief glimpse of the scene before he was forced to recoil. It looked as though the shape-changing creature had been surrounded by the armed unit officers.

Now, however, the officers were scattering as the alien launched what appeared to be the bone spikes protruding out of its body at them. The spikes were attached to ropes of flesh that connected back to the main body. Each time one was fired at a unit officer, the thin rope of flesh would whip it back.

"Amazing," said Don, watching the scene unfold. "It's like the creature has complete control over its cellular structure."

"Terrific," Raph retorted, scowling. "Got any ideas on how to put that thing down? Cuz those bozos with the laser blasters ain't doing so well."

"I thought you didn't want to get involved, Raph," Mikey called out, teasingly.

Raph tuned his brother out and looked back at the brawl down below. "We're never going to get out that way," Don mused.

"No kidding," Raph said. "How are we supposed to do our job if these guys can't do theirs?"

"By doing what we came here to do," Leo replied, stepping forward. "Now that the creature is out of the ship, we can bring it down without worrying about damaging the ship."

"I think the ship's already been damaged, Leo," Mikey pointed out, glancing over the mess their battle had caused. "I don't envy the cleaning crew they send up."

"Take it down hard and fast," Leo said, speaking directly to Raph and Don. "Master Splinter can stay behind and protect Cody."

Leonardo turned toward his father. "If that is okay with you, Master," he added respectfully.

"Go, my sons," Splinter assured them. "But be careful."

The turtles nodded at one another and charged out the door, with Leo in the front. Splinter watched them go with a concerned, yet proud, expression.

"I can't believe it's really like this all the time for you guys," Cody said, watching them go as well. "All those stories in my great-grandparents' journals made it sound like an adventure, but this..."

"Do not worry yourself," Splinter told Cody, knowing what was really troubling the boy. "Your time will come soon."

Splinter's words cut through Cody like a knife. "I feel like I can't do anything," he mumbled wearily, looking around the wrecked ship interior for something to focus on.

Splinter waited patiently as Cody gathered his thoughts together. "I guess I always imagined meeting you guys, and it being the way my great-grandfather made it sound, with us fighting bad guys together. You all know how to fight, and I just..."

"...brought down a dangerous creature by yourself," Splinter reminded him with a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Something none of my sons, or myself for that matter, were able to do for fear of bringing harm to you. Yet you used what you had on-hand to stop it."

Cody looked bewildered for a moment. "Oh," he said, unable to keep from smiling. "The extinguisher gun was all that was in the cockpit."

"And a ninja uses what is at hand to his advantage," Splinter reminded, smiling himself. "You have passed your first challenge with flying colors, Cody-dono."

Cody's face turned slightly pink. "I guess I did do okay, huh?"

A crash sounded from outside. "So now what do we do?" he wondered.

"We wait," answered Splinter. "The others will finish this soon. Then we must get you to the O'Neil building without any more incidences."

Another crash followed as Splinter finished speaking, followed by what sounded like a scream of pain.

"What are the odds of that happening?" Cody asked, wide-eyed.

Splinter shrugged. "It would be a first, but the future has been full of surprises for us all, so I won't completely rule it out."

{} {} {} {} {}

Donatello grunted in pain as Michelangelo was flung shell-first into him. Both brothers tumbled head over heels into the wall behind him while Raph let out a howl from somewhere off to the side.

"I don't think this is going very well," Michelangelo groaned from underneath Donatello. "And why am I on the bottom again?"

"You're very astute," Don said, shaking the collision off. "Looks like it's time for the kid gloves to come off."

"Huh?" Mikey groaned, blinking as he stood up behind Don. "Wait, we were wearing soft on this thing?"

"I was," replied Don. "Because I'm not certain this will work. Madame Tao and I weren't able to perfect some of the configurations with my gear. Getting this to work is going to be tricky."

Don aimed his bo staff and fired a laser shot at the creature. At the same time, the purple tiger insignia on his chest glowed brightly in tune with the wind markings printed on his Nightrunner armor.

Donatello jumped high into the air, spinning his bo around him as his body turned into a series of flips. Energy bands wove around him, kicking up a small tornado that glowed the same color as the markings on his armor. The sound of a great cat's roar echoed through the windstorm he'd conjured.

Don't tornado plowed straight through the alien creature as it prepared to stab through the front of Raphael's shell. The alien splattered, and Raph was thrown off to the side out of the way by the wind before any of the goop could touch him.

Don was grinning as his feet touched the ground. "Wow," he gasped excitedly. "That worked out way better than I thought it would. Now if I could just work on not feeling so dizzy..."

"It's reforming again," Leonardo shouted.

The alien was indeed reconstituting itself, drawing the different puddles of glop toward each other.

"Man, what does it take to bring this thing down?" Raph snarled.

"We don't even know what it is," Don said pointedly. "If we did, there might be a way of determining what its weakness is."

"Fire!"

The command was shouted from off to the side. All four turtles turned to see the unit patrol officers taking aim. The alien creature had nearly completed reconstituting itself, and was beginning to stir. Unfortunately, its body was laying in the same path as the turtles.

"Hey, can't you tell we're on the same side?" Raph howled in anger as laser fire forced him and his brother's to scatter.

Leonardo parried several shots away from him and back toward the alien with his swords. Michelangelo had formed a light shield for himself with his nunchaku, and stood in front of Don and Raph.

"This is crazy," Don said. "The more we fight, the bigger danger there is of that thing slipping away."

"It's like these guys don't even know how to handle the situation," Raph grumbled. "How can they be so dense?"

"It would seem that even in the future," Don began in a sad voice, "dealing with these kinds of problems isn't a regular occurrence for most people."

"Unlike us," Mikey added. "How weird is it that we're the most qualified to handle problems like this when the whole planet has aliens on it now?"

Don opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by the roar was what sounded like some sort of hovercraft flying low overhead. A shadow passed over them, drawing the attention of Raph and Mikey as well. The firing ceased, and Leo finally spotted what his brothers were so focused on.

It almost looked like a flying turtle shell with attachments sticking out of the side. The flying shell blasted at the feet of the alien as it swooped past, drawing it's attention, then quickly slowed to a stop in mid-air. A single figure dressed in green jumped into the air and flipped forward out of the craft. With the pilot absent, the machine lowered itself to the ground all on its own. What might have been wings that had engines stuck to the end pulled themselves back into the main body. The cockpit area inside vanished from sight as the back part fell forward.

Now that it was folded up, the craft looked more like one-half of a turtle's shell. Of course, that was nothing compared to its pilot.

Up close, the figure was dressed in a mixture of green and yellow, with strips of orange mixed in stylistically for good measure. Cybernetic armor, similar to what the turtles were wearing, covered his body.

Don looked the turtle-themed warrior up and down and scowled slightly. "I'm fairly certain that's copyright infringement," he said disdainfully.

"Who's this guy?" Mikey wondered.

The stranger took one look at the situation and reached down for the buckle on his belt. Mikey's eyes widened as he spotted the double-T symbol there.

"Hey," he said loudly. "That's mine!"

The stranger gave no notice of Michelangelo. The alien creature had been watching him the whole time and abruptly charged forward. The turtles started to move forward as one to cover the man, but Leo hesitated and held his brother's back as the stranger calmly pulled out a single card from what looked like a deck holder concealed beneath the belt buckle.

The stranger slipped the card he drew into a gauntlet device on his left arm, then cocked the card scanner once.

"_**Shield Vent**_," a computerized voice said plainly.

Donatello watched as a glowing light shield manifested on the stranger's left arm. "He's certainly come prepared, whoever he is," the resident turtle genius said as the stranger batted the shape-shifting creature back repeated.

"It's the Turtle Titan!" one of the unit patrol members cried out over the din of battle. "Get the Justice Force online."

"Turtle Titan?" Mikey asked indignantly. "Who does this guy think he is?"

The shape-shifter went rolling to the ground from a particularly nasty blow. The alleged Turtle Titan easily batted several stray shots from the unit members, then calmly reached into his belt for another card.

"_**Sword Vent**_," the computer declared once the card was slipped into the gauntlet holster.

Reaching back behind him, the Turtle Titan grasped twin hilts as they sprung from a small, nondescript cylinder hanging horizontally on his back. Don blinked as light flashed. Two laser blades now glowed brightly from the hilts' ends.

"Those weapons look familiar," Don noted.

"This guy is running around acting like us," Mikey declared, furious now. "He's stolen my superhero costume, and ripping off our weapons."

The shape-shifter screamed as the Turtle Titan sliced away at it. "And doing a much more effective job with them," Don admitted reluctantly.

"This guy didn't spent the last hour trapped inside a space cruiser with that thing," Raph snarled disdainfully as he joined them.

"No," agreed Don, "but we're not exactly at our best right now."

The Turtle Titan had the shape-shifter on the ropes now. Despite the creature's ability to regenerate, the Titan attacked fast enough to counter each attempt at reconstruction.

"This is humiliating," Raph grumbled as the shifter howled.

"Let it go, Raph," Leo said, joining his brothers at last. "At least the situation is contained. Master Splinter and Cody are both safe, so we should..."

Leo stopped short of finishing his sentence as the Turtle Titan swiped both blades sideways opposite of one another, slicing the creature open. The thing's innards lay open to the cool air while the Titan back-flipped out of the way, putting the swords back up at the same time.

Landing, the Titan drew out another card.

_**"Final Vent."**_

"Um, I'm not sure I like the sound of that," said Mikey warily.

Don noticed something ejecting out of the back of the flying vehicle the Turtle Titan had arrived in. Whatever it was must have been calculated for trajectory and breeze compensation, because it landed in the Titan's awaiting arms flawlessly. As the Titan took aim with the device, the turtles saw it was some sort of blaster.

"Wait," Leonardo cried out, rushing forward.

The Titan fired without hesitation as the shifter struggled to pull itself back together. Both Leo and the creature shouted, horrified, as the blast made contact. Don was expecting some sort of explosion, but the device instead blanketed the creature in some sort of chemical. Gas and fumes rose out of the contorted body as it began to melt into the floor.

The Titan looked over his handiwork for a moment while the creature squelched and moaned pitifully. As the thing gave one last sound of protest before dying, the Titan nodded, then shouldered the blaster and turned around to face the turtles.

All of them had horrified expressions.

"What the hell?" Michelangelo demanded. "Dude, he just killed it without flinching."

"I know," said Leo, backing up to join his brothers again. "On your guard, guys."

Raph raised both laser sais up. "I'm ready for 'em," he said through clenched teeth. "Let's see what he had for breakfast."

"No, Raph."

Raph kept his eyes locked on the Titan despite Leonardo's protests. The Titan, however, remained perfectly still in the same spot, observing them. After a moment, he pulled another card out and slipped it into the gauntlet. The vehicle he'd arrived in revved up in response, rose up off the ground, and flew toward him. The Turtle Titan raised an arm as it approached, and on cue, the hovercraft dropped a cord for him to snag.

The turtles, save for Raphael, relaxed. "You gotta admit," Don said, watching the Titan fly off. "He does know how to make an exit."

"He's getting away," Mikey shouted in protest. "Guys, we have to go after him!"

"Now you're talkin' my language, Mikey," Raph said.

"No, you two." Leo didn't waver at the looks his brothers gave him. "Our job here is to protect Cody. Whatever's going on, it isn't our problem for the moment."

"But that guy just ripped off my superhero identity," Mikey insisted petulantly. "He's giving the Turtle Titan a bad name by blowing people up."

"In case you missed it, Mikey, that thing almost killed us," Don pointed out, though somewhat reluctantly. "He saved our lives."

"But that pilot sounded scared before she transformed," Michelangelo said, looking from one brother to the next. "I think something might have been wrong with her."

Leonardo sighed as he spotted Cody and Master Splinter decending the ramp of the O'Neil Shelltech space cruiser. The members of the unit patrol were already approaching. Cody had his identification out and was showing it to them as several others aimed rifles their way.

"We'll look into it," Leo finally agreed, "but later. Let's get Master Splinter and Cody somewhere safe. Enough has already happened for one day."

The leader of the unit patrol was giving the turtles a skeptical look, but said nothing in protest to Cody's false information regarding them.

"I'm Lieutenant-Major Tranquil," she said, introducing herself formally to Cody. "Your guardsmen helped contain the intruder. For that, I am appreciative."

"Sorry for the trouble," Cody apologized. "We're still not sure what happened, or why the pilot suddenly changed into that..."

"The remains will be analyzed at the O'Neil Shelltech facility," the lieutenant-major said, looking the splotches on the ground over for a moment. "Once the species has been identified, we'll see if any information regarding them turns up. In the meantime, though, if your guard would be so kind as to fall in line, I have a unit escort waiting."

"It's appreciated," Cody replied. "Come on, guys. I guess we'd better go to the O'Neil building straight away."

"Ask her if she knows anything about the guy on the bike that jumped in earlier," Mikey pipped up anxiously.

"Not now, Mikey," Don grumbled.

Tranquil, however, went rigid at this. "He calls himself the Turtle Titan," she said through what sounded like clenched teeth.

The lieutenant-major's steps were much tenser as she led them through the docking region and out into the main area of Moonbase Bishop. "He was once a member of the Justice Force, but something happened, and they had to toss him out. He's been a rogue and a thorn in the side of the Bishop unit patrol ever since."

Michelangelo scowled, but fell in line with the others as they flanked Cody on all sides. Master Splinter stood guard directly on the boy's right, helping his sons by keeping watching. The lieutenant-major was in the lead further ahead.

It was hard for the brothers to focus on their task at hand. Moonbase Bishop was an illustrious space port filled with aliens of all shapes and sizes. The turtles spotted one or two that were familiar, including a couple that may have been of the same race as those they had fought in the Battle Nexus. Flying vehicles zipped overhead. The sounds of ships taking off and landing echoed all around. Up ahead was some sort of bazaar. Lieutenant-Major Tranquil led them off to the side away from it, however, and up a flight of stairs onto a transparent crosswalk.

"Our ride is up ahead," she informed, gesturing to a strange platform craft at an intersection that already held several unit patrol members.

"Hey, guys!" Donnie said gleefully all of a sudden. "I just realized. We're the first mutant turtles and rats on the moon."

"You're right," Michelangelo replied, snapping out of his funk. "That's one small step for mutant turtles, one giant leap for Michelangelo kind."

"And one hard smack upside your head if you don't quit playing around," Raph warned, cracking his knuckles. "We're supposed to be protecting Cody."

Lieutenant-Major Tranquil glanced at Leonardo briefly. "Are they always like that?" she wondered.

"Always," Splinter assured her. "I've found that it is best if one simply tunes them out."

The lieutenant-major cocked an eyebrow and observed the rat closely as Splinter boarded the platform craft first alongside Cody.

"I didn't believe the data when he showed it to me," she said, gesturing at Cody, "but you are definitely their father."

Donatello gave a sheepish grin as he and the others boarded the craft next, taking position around Cody. After their lengthy battle on board the cruiser, none of them were willing to risk his safety.

The platform rose up off the clear crosswalk intersection the moment everyone was in position. The device below their feet hummed peacefully as the machine began to soar over the bazaar below, giving them all a clear view of the moon base.

"This is so amazing," Cody said. "I've seen holograms of all this before, but it's so much bigger and better in person."

Splinter smiled at Cody's statement. "I never would have imagined anything like this," he confessed.

"Moonbase Bishop has everything," Don agreed, nodding. "I hope we get a chance to look around."

"And best of all," Raph finished. "We don't have to go undercover in some old smelly trench coats."

"Yeah," the others resounded.

Cody looked around at his adopted entourage. "Trench coats?" he wondered. "Really?"

"It was Mikey's idea," Leo explained, chuckling. "We only wore them a couple of times."

The O'Neil Shelltech building was dead ahead now. The geodesic dome was surrounded by towers on four sides. All of it was colored with a mixture of deep green and golden brown. The color scheme surprised the four turtles, but brought a smile to their faces all the same, including Raphael.

The hovering platform was headed directly for the northern tower. A separate platform, one that extended out from the top of the tower, held a small cluster of people. One alien male with pink skin and flowing spiky red stood ahead of the others. A smile dotted his feline-like face as Cody came into view.

"Welcome," the alien male said, extending his arms out wide, "Cody O'Neil-Jones, to O'Neil Shelltech's Moonbase Bishop grounds. I am Ry'allki, the chief of security at this establishment. We have all been anxiously awaiting your arrival."

"It is nice to meet you," Cody replied formally. "These are my friends, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Splinter. They're serving as my personal security staff while I'm here."

The feline man nodded to each one in turn.

"I heard there were some problems with your arrival," Ry'allki said, his face showing concern. "Nothing too difficult, I hope?"

"Nothing related to O'Neil Shelltech," Cody assured him knowingly. "Right now, we'll all just a little worn out from the flight. Would it be alright if my friends and I rested in one of the private areas for a bit before we get down to business."

"Of course." Ry'allki actually bowed slightly. "The senior supervisor over this facility anticipated such a thing, and has a lounge already prepared with food and drink."

"Thank you."

Cody hesitated before speaking again. "I hope you don't mind my asking, but where is the senior supervisor?"

Ry'allki grimaced. "He asked that I send his deepest apologies," the feline man said. "There was some sort of unexpected emergency, and he was unavoidably detained. I'm afraid it came up just before you arrived, so I don't know what the details are yet."

"I see."

Raphael leaned in toward Donatello and hissed, "This moon trip hasn't exactly been a pleasure cruise for any of us. I wonder what else is going to go wrong."

"My Uncle Darius wasn't clear on the details," Cody went on, speaking over Raph. "He just said that there had been reports of some problems recently. What seems to be the trouble?"

"We had hoped to clear the matter up ourselves," Ry'allki said, clearly uncomfortable now. "Somehow, a few unauthorized reports leaked out. Then we heard that you were being sent to deal with the problem. Please understand, sir, that the situation isn't as out-of-control as I believe your uncle assumed."

Cody waited for the chief of security to elaborate.

"Yes?" he pressed, when the feline humanoid refused to continue speaking.

"We think the building is haunted."

Off to the side, a human female stepped forward into the forefront. A holographic notepad was clutched in one hand. Both arms were folded across her chest, and she looked from one turtle to the next before staring down at Cody.

"Forgive my speaking out of turn," she said briskly, not sounding sorry at all. "But I feel the nature of this emergency is more serious than the reports say."

"Sorry," Cody said. "You are?"

"It's nothing, really..." Ry'allki insisted anxiously.

"I am the chief of staff over O'Neil Shelltech's mystical research department," she declared, giving Ry'allki a hard, momentary glare. "My name is Dr. Sirius Albireo, and my people have been monitoring the building's activity ever since the incidences began."

"Dr. Albireo's theories have been taken into account," Ry'allki said quickly, hoping to regain control of the situation. "However..."

"There can be no doubt," she insisted, cutting him off. "The building is inhabited by otherworldly presences."

"A building on the moon is haunted?" Mikey asked, looking to Donatello for verification. "Wow, that's something none of us expected to hear."

"It gets worse," she continued, mindful of the warning look Ry'allki was shooting at her now. "My people were the ones who sent the unauthorized reports. I believe the haunting is connected to an artifact that was uncovered nearly a year ago."

"Why would ghosts be interested in haunting the O'Neil Shelltech building?" Donatello wondered.

Dr. Albireo looked from Cody to Donnie. "Not ghosts," she corrected. "These are something else."

"Dr. Albireo, your theories regarding this matter have yet to be verified," Ry'allki insisted, stepping closer to her.

"Only because the senior supervisor refused to allow my team anywhere near the artifact after our initial discovery was made," she countered.

"What is this artifact?" Cody asked. "Why wasn't I ever informed of its discovery?"

Ry'allki looked at Cody in surprise, and Dr. Albireo used the opportunity to step in front of him.

"We found a red ruby," she explained. "Or, at least, that was what we assumed it was. The senior supervisor was hoping to find precious stones in the bed of the Serpent Sea. Upon further examination, the artifact was discovered to possess a completely different molecular make-up than that of any stone known on earth."

"You mean you discovered something that didn't originate on the moon?" Donatello pressed excitedly.

"Or on Earth?" Cody added, just as eager now. "The Earth and the moon match as far as basic elemental compounds go."

"The analysis team believes so, yes," she replied. "But there was also a tablet found near the spot where the artifact was uncovered. It took some doing, but my team finally translated it. The tablet was a warning."

"A warning?" Splinter asked now, looking slightly grave. "Of what?"

Dr. Albireo stared down at Splinter. "Of moon beasts."

{} {} {} {} {}

Michelangelo made a face.

"Beware, Cody-san," he said in a deep, guttural voice. "For the moon beasts lurk in the shadows of this very building!"

Cody just rolled his eyes and went back to scrolling through the digital reports. "Sorry, Michelangelo," he said, trying not to smile. "But I still don't buy into the idea that the facility is haunted."

The six of them had been left inside an opulent lounging area. Ry'allki had shown them to the room, then left with Dr. Albireo in tow, who had insisted on giving Cody copies of her reports. Ry'allki had given Cody an apologetic look before herding the scientist away.

The turtles and Splinter had made themselves comfortable after checking the room for any unexpected surprises. Since the disaster on board the space cruiser, none of them were willing to take any chances. Leonardo hadn't said so out loud, but it was clear someone had it in for young Cody. Judging by how their sensei always positioned himself at or near Cody's side, it was clear Master Splinter felt the same way.

"I don't know," Raph muttered skeptically, moving up closer to the couch where Cody and Splinter were sitting at. "This whole moon beast bit is probably bogus, but we've seen plenty of crazy things in our time."

"Admittedly true," Don said. "Though I reserve the right to abstain from making any conclusions until after we're done gathering evidence and after I've examined the space rock they found."

"I'll have someone take us to where it's being stored after my meeting with the senior supervisor," Cody said, looking up from his holographic notepad. "I'd like to have a look at what they found myself."

"Why?" Mikey wondered. "Do you think the moon beasts came out of that thing?"

Leo gave Michelangelo a look. "More than likely," Don replied, "its part of a meteorite that impacted the moon and sank into the crater."

"What about the tablet they said was found next to it?" Leonardo asked curiously. "Who put that there?"

Don thought for a moment. "It could be a hoax," he offered. "Someone could have stuck the tablet there as a joke, not knowing there was anything else buried in that part of the Serpent Sea."

"Or maybe there really are moon beasts," Mikey insisted, the teasing evident in his voice. "Horrible creatures ready to jump out of the walls and drag each of us off to some terrifying moon underworld."

Cody looked up from his work and glanced around the room at everyone else. "As long as they take Mikey first, I've got no beef with them," Raph said as Cody's eyes landed on him.

"Hey!"

Cody laughed out loud at Mikey's objection. "And I was worried at first that this trip might be boring," he said to himself before going back to his notes.

Minutes passed, and silence fell over the room. Michelangelo's antics slowly fell to the wayside as he realized nobody was in the mood for them. Cody wrapped up his reports, then set the notepad aside. Dr. Albireo certainly had some interesting theories concerning the various accidents. At first, Cody had dismissed them as simple mistakes caused by chance.

Now, though...

"I wonder..." he mumbled aloud.

"Huh?" Leo asked, turning toward him. "Something wrong, Cody?"

"What?" Cody looked up at Leonardo. "Oh, nothing's wrong. I was just wondering when the senior supervisor was going to get here."

"Call and find out," Don suggested. "It's your company."

Cody's mouth twisted into an embarrassed grin. "I keep forgetting that," he said, blushing from forehead to collar. "Uncle Darius handled things for so long that it feels like the company is more his than mine."

Opening the holo-screen on his wrist comm, Cody punched in the number for the senior supervisor.

The screen went totally black.

"Huh?" Cody said, hitting the redial button. "That's odd. I'm not getting through. Something is blocking me."

Frowning, Leonardo walked over to the sliding set of doors they'd been brought through. The doors should have opened automatically, but remained defiantly shut. Worried now, Leo pressed both palms to each side and tried forcing the crack down the middle open.

"We've been sealed in," he said, looking back around at his family. "Someone locked us inside."

"Probably that bastard Ry'allki," Raph surmised.

"Raphael," Splinter warned, having never liked it when his sons swore.

"But why, though?" Donatello wondered. "If they'd wanted to do something to us, shouldn't it have happened now?"

Everyone waited, as though expecting disaster to strike on cue. "I guess not," Michelangelo said, searching the room in confusion. "This really is weird."

"What do we do, then?" Cody wondered.

"That's easy," Raph said, stepping up to the sealed doors with both fists raised. "We make our own way out, then find out who tried to box us up in here."

Flames encircled Raph's wrists. Leonardo moved back out of the way and took cover along with the others. Using their bodies as shields, both Leo and Splinter covered Cody up. Seeing that everyone was safe, Raphael charged forward and punched the door, causing it to blast off the rollers into pieces.

The shattered remains clattered to the floor on the other side of the hallway. Smoke rose up off them from Raph's attack. The red-clad ninja turtle flexed his fingers while wearing a satisfied grin.

"That felt good," he said. "Let's get our shells outta here."

Leo drew his swords out. Mikey pulled his nunchaku out and gave them a spin, while Donatello kept his bo at the ready. Splinter took position beside Cody, who looked ready for action.

"Let's go," he said. "I think I have an idea of where we should look first."

Keeping the holo-screen on his wrist comm open, Cody brought up a general map of the O'Neil Shelltech moon base facility, zeroing in on the area they occupied. The others surrounded him, but followed his lead as he pointed toward a nearby elevator.

"That one," Cody instructed. "It should take us directly to the floor where the mystic research lab is located. That's where Dr. Albireo said the artifact found by the excavation was being kept."

"What makes you so sure that has anything to do with this?" Donatello asked.

"Because it was the only thing anyone talked about after we got here," Cody replied, shrugging. "But mostly, I've just got a feeling."

As they approached the elevator, Splinter jerked his head back sharply in the direction they'd come from. Leo noticed, and looked over at his sensei with worried eyes.

"Is something the matter, Master?"

"I thought I sensed..." Master Splinter began, still watching anxiously over his shoulder.

Splinter was cut off as the elevator sounded, signifying that it had arrived. Everyone piled in once the doors opened, Splinter going last. Before they closed, he sniffed the air one last time for good measure.

"Uh, guys?" Cody said, once the elevator started moving. "I think something is seriously wrong. I just hacked into some of the security for this region of the facility with my wrist comm. According to the diagnostic scan I just ran, most of the area is deserted."

"That can't be good," said Mikey.

"Does it say why?" Leo wondered.

"No," Cody replied. "And the computers are supposed to log everything away for records to keep track of. If any part of the facility had to be evacuated for any reason, it should be here. There would be alarms going off and everything, but it's all quiet."

"Too quiet," Splinter said ominously.

"Master," Michelangelo moaned. "I really hate it when you say stuff like that. It gives me the creeps."

"I believe that our host might not have been forthcoming about everything he knew," Splinter continued as the elevator slowed to a stop. "We should be on our guard."

"The area where the artifact is being stored is this way," Cody said, closing his wrist comm window as the doors creaked open. "We should..."

The rest of Cody's sentence hung in his throat as he looked past the doors into the darkness beyond. The corridor outside the elevator compartment was pitch black. None of the lights were on. It was like ink had been poured over everything, including the air.

"Rumors of moon beasts," Mikey counted off on one hand. "Being locked in a room, and now a creepy, deserted hallway with no light?"

"Definitely suspicious," Donatello concluded.

"And all the more reason to be careful," Splinter said, still sniffing the air. "I cannot shake the sense that we are not alone here."

"According to the scanners, we are," Cody informed. "But even if the place was empty, the lights shouldn't have gone out."

Donatello opened his own wrist comm. "Night vision mode," he explained to his brothers, motioning for them to do the same. "We'll be able to see in the dark almost as if it were brightly lit."

The others, save Splinter and Cody, followed Donnie's lead. "Nice," Raph complimented. "You can't even tell the hallway's dark anymore."

"Mikey like," said Mikey happily. "This could replace my night light back home. Remind me to take this with me."

"Sorry, Master Splinter," Don said sincerely. "You and Cody will have to stick close to us until we can get the power back on."

"A ninja does not always need eyes to see," Splinter retorted gently, though he never left Donatello's side as they departed the elevator.

Cody stayed close as well.

"If we can locate a power terminal," he said, searching aimlessly in the dark, "I might be able to get the lights working again. Maybe even learn what happened down here."

Slowly, the six moved along through the maze of darkened hallways, keeping close to one another. Cody managed to locate a power terminal almost immediately, but found it had been completely smashed. There was no chance of repairing it without tools, so they continued on. The next terminal they came to had been torn right out of the wall.

"This doesn't make any sense," Cody said, sounding frightened now.

"Unless someone doesn't want us finding something," Michelangelo replied. "Maybe it really is the moon beasts."

"Or maybe your shell's on too tight," Raph snapped. "Quit playing around, Mikey."

Mikey opened his mouth to toss back a smart remark, but instead let out a high-pitched scream. There was a flash of light, and the others whirled around to find Michelangelo climbing on top of Donatello in fright.

"There was..." Mikey stammered. "It was... something came out of the wall and tried to grab me, but then... and I thought I felt it..."

"Get off, Mikey," Don said in an impatient tone, shaking his brother to the floor.

"Even with night vision, you're still in the dark," Raph declared, helping his terrified brother up. "I can't believe you're jumping at shadows. There's nothing down here but us."

"No," Splinter cut in, sniffing the air once more. "I sense something. It has been here since before we arrived on this floor. And again, it was upstairs."

No one moved.

"Master," Leo said, almost pleadingly. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Splinter insisted, raising one clawed finger. "Do not let your guard down for an instant."

"Maybe we should just leave," Cody suggested, looking from one turtle to the next. "There has to be more personnel somewhere in the building. We can come back with a full team of security and investigate then."

Raph frowned hard. "That's not exactly how we're used to doing things," he began, though the others looked more enthused by the idea.

"We usually have to do things on our own," Leo said. "It feels weird to think we're not hiding in the shadows here."

"Well, not exactly," Cody replied, wearing a smirk. "See, in order to come to Moonbase Bishop with me, I had to forge official documents for you all. You're now visiting citizens from Shell Ri-La, here to study Earth culture and serve as part of O'Neil Shelltech's working planetary Visa."

Everyone chuckled at the name.

"I guess we should start earning our paycheck," Leo said, gripping his ninjaken. "It's too dangerous for us to be wandering around here with you. One of the others can escort you back upstairs. We'll handle things from here."

"Can't I stay?" Cody quickly asked pleadingly. "I want to help. This is the sort of adventure I always wanted to have."

Splinter lay a hand on his shoulder. "Come," he insisted. "I will return with you. We will find a way to help my sons from a safer location."

"Don," Leo instructed. "Go with them. Make sure nothing happens to Cody or Master Splinter. Once they're safe, contact us."

Reluctantly, Cody nodded goodbye to the others and worked his way back toward the elevator while holding on to Splinter and Donatello, who's visor was still activated.

"No offense, Leo," Raph said. "For once, anyway, but shouldn't we send someone else instead? Donnie's geek knowledge is bound to come in handy better than Mikey."

"Hey!"

"With the terminals out," Leo explained, taking point. "Don's not going to have much luck hacking into this area's computer systems. Better he do it from another location than down here. Besides, we're just going to have a quick look around while we wait for Cody to send backup."

No sooner had Leonardo spoke, the turtles heard Cody scream from far off back down the hallway. The echo sent chills through all three of their shells.

"So much for that plan," Raph retorted, taking off ahead of the others.

"Cody!" Michelangelo cried out, taking off after Raphael. "Hang on, Little Ninja. Uncle Mikey is coming to save the day!"

"Guys, wait up!" Leo called out, coming in last.

In moments, the three had located their Master and Cody. Donatello was nowhere to be found. Cody was lying on the floor clutching his leg, as though he'd injured it. That barely registered with Raph, Mikey, and Leo though.

Looming over Cody and Splinter was some sort of being. Its body shone like it had been forged out of the soft texture of moonlight. The being's form was translucent, and Leo could make out what appeared to be organs, equally immaterial, on the inside. It was shaped vaguely like some kind of humanoid frog, with massive arms that had suction cups attached to the end of the pronged fingers. Tentacles waved in the air above a horrifyingly wide mouth. More curled out from the bottom of the beast's lumbering form, occupying where the feet and legs ought to have been.

Master Splinter was clutching Cody close to him while sniffing the air.

"Father!" Leonardo called out in a blind panic. "Cody!"

The creature seemed to consider the three turtles for a second or two before going back to the human and rat on the floor in front of it.

"Get away from them!" Raph cried out.

"What is that thing?" Mikey wondered, looking panic-stricken.

"I think," Raph said, gripping his laser sais, "we just found your moon beast, Mikey."


End file.
